Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) to Issue $0.87 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Atmos Energy Corporation has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, with the payment date set for September 8th for investors of record on August 25th, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.2%.
• The company has a payout ratio of 44.8%, indicating it can comfortably cover its dividend from earnings, with expected earnings of $7.73 per share for the next year.
• Atmos Energy reported $1.16 earnings per share for its last quarter, slightly missing analysts’ expectations, and has a market capitalization of approximately $24.97 billion.

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 6th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of 0.87 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, September 8th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%.

Atmos Energy has a payout ratio of 44.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Atmos Energy to earn $7.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.0%.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO traded up $0.57 on Wednesday, hitting $157.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,409,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,727. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company's fifty day moving average price is $154.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.36. The company has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $126.08 and a 12-month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.02). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. As a group, analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,213,925,000 after buying an additional 424,235 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $432,749,000 after purchasing an additional 223,809 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,732,000 after buying an additional 58,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $238,628,000 after buying an additional 1,017,575 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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