Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Purchased by APG Asset Management N.V.

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. significantly increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 112.5% in the first quarter, owning a total of 74,445 shares now valued at approximately $10.65 million.
• Other hedge funds have also boosted their positions in Atmos Energy, with First Horizon Advisors increasing its holdings by 191.2%, showing strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Atmos Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87, with a dividend yield of 2.1%, to be paid to shareholders on September 8th.

APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 112.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 39,407 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $10,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,447 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $165.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 650,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,861. The firm has a market cap of $26.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $128.12 and a 1 year high of $168.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $158.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.94.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 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.