Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 424,235 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation by 2.1%, now owning approximately 13.10% of the company, valued at around $3.21 billion.
• Atmos Energy reported $1.16 EPS for the most recent quarter, slightly missing analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.
• Institutional investors own about 90.17% of Atmos Energy's stock, reflecting strong interest from hedge funds in the utilities sector.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 424,235 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 13.10% of Atmos Energy worth $3,213,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,965 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,009,000 after buying an additional 14,794 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 68,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,482,000 after buying an additional 2,350 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 9,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,281,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $165.53. 208,991 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 977,959. The company has a market cap of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $127.43 and a fifty-two week high of $167.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average is $155.22 and its 200 day moving average is $153.08.

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 company had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 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.