Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 3.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 950,573 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 34,878 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.60% of Atmos Energy worth $146,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,705,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 2,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $166.22. The company had a trading volume of 424,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,325. The company's 50-day moving average is $155.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.17. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $127.43 and a twelve month high of $167.45. 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 company has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The company had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's dividend 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.