Aberdeen Group plc Buys 10,317 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 5.9%, acquiring an additional 10,317 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $28.74 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have shown significant interest in Atmos Energy, with First Horizon Advisors boosting their position by 191.2% in the first quarter alone.
• Atmos Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87, yielding 2.0%, with a payout ratio of 47.80%.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,317 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.12% of Atmos Energy worth $28,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 141.2% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on ATO. Mizuho boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays set a $175.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.70.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $176.45 on Monday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $136.05 and a one year high of $177.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $166.31 and its 200 day moving average is $159.00. The firm has a market cap of $28.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 47.80%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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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