Avior Wealth Management LLC Buys 5,847 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Avior Wealth Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 7,796% during Q2, acquiring 5,847 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 5,922 shares valued at $913,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Clark Capital Management Group Inc., have also made significant adjustments to their positions in Atmos Energy, reflecting strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Atmos Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.1%, with a current payout ratio of 47.80%.

Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 7,796.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,922 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,847 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,213,925,000 after acquiring an additional 424,235 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $65,333,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,713.2% in the first quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 305,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,266,000 after acquiring an additional 294,900 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 21,802.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 282,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,608,000 after acquiring an additional 280,821 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 24.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,317,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $203,659,000 after purchasing an additional 257,341 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set 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 objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.82.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $169.43 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $163.42 and a 200-day moving average of $157.58. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.05 and a 1 year high of $169.96. 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 capitalization of $27.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75.

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 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 firm had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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