Seaport Res Ptn Expects Stronger Earnings for Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) – Equities research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn boosted their FY2025 EPS estimates for Atmos Energy in a report issued on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst A. Storozynski now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $7.23 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $7.16. The consensus estimate for Atmos Energy’s current full-year earnings is $7.14 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Atmos Energy’s FY2026 earnings at $7.79 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $8.38 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $8.97 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

ATO stock opened at $136.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $142.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $21.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic raised its position in Atmos Energy by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 228,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,728,000 after purchasing an additional 14,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 33,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,707,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 50.66%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.