Hennessy Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 2.2%, owning approximately 164,286 shares valued at $25.3 million by the end of the second quarter.
• Atmos Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.48 and a yield of 2.0%.
• The company reported earnings of $1.16 per share for the last quarter, which was slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.17.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.10% of Atmos Energy worth $25,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 11.0% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,614 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 78.5% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 8,391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 3,690 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3,044.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 37,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,837,000 after purchasing an additional 36,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $170.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $164.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.05 and a 1 year high of $171.20.

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). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS 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 paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Argus set a $172.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.50.

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.

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