422,649 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Bought by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 422,649 shares of Atmos Energy Corporation, valued at approximately $65.3 million, increasing its stake to 0.27% of the company.
• Atmos Energy's recent earnings report showed EPS of $1.16, slightly below the consensus estimate, while the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.
• Brokerage ratings on Atmos Energy show a mix, with one sell, seven holds, four buys, and one strong buy, reflecting a current average target price of $158.27.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 422,649 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $65,333,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.27% of Atmos Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 45,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,392,000 after acquiring an additional 13,103 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $3,264,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 33,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $166.92 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $155.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $127.43 and a 12-month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.80%.

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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