Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Position Increased by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 7.9% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 3,568 shares, bringing its total holdings to 48,734 shares valued at $7.55 million.
• Atmos Energy recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 47.8%.
• Despite a recent earnings miss, analysts generally maintain a "Hold" rating on Atmos Energy, with a consensus target price of $158.27 following multiple price objective adjustments from various research firms.

Ethic Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 48,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,568 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $7,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $3,213,925,000 after purchasing an additional 424,235 shares during the period. 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. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,732,000 after acquiring an additional 58,391 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. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,639,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $228,274,000 after acquiring an additional 233,790 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $166.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 397,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 973,735. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.89. 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 $167.85.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $838.77 million during 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 business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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 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 is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATO. 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. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.27.

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.