West Family Investments Inc. Invests $797,000 in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $797,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director William Ware purchased 300 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.73.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $168.16. 773,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,246,856. The stock has a market cap of $28.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.74 and a 200-day moving average of $177.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.81. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The company had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.56%.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.