Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Has $47.53 Million Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation by 114.0% in the first quarter, owning approximately $47.5 million worth of the company’s stock.
• Atmos Energy recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.16, slightly missing analyst expectations, with revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.87 on September 8th, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 47.8%.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 114.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 307,501 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 163,822 shares during the quarter. Atmos Energy accounts for 1.0% of Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC owned about 0.19% of Atmos Energy worth $47,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 541.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $212,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287,325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,017,575 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 424,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $47,817,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced 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. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ATO stock traded down $0.52 on Thursday, reaching $166.46. 319,055 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 977,924. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $127.43 and a 12-month high of $167.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.69. The business's 50 day moving average price is $155.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.17.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 47.80%.

Atmos Energy 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.