Patton Fund Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. has acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation, purchasing 20,307 shares valued at approximately $3.13 million.
• Atmos Energy's recent earnings results revealed an EPS of $1.16, which missed analysts' expectations, and it reported revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, yielding 2.1%, with a dividend payout ratio currently at 47.80%.

Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,130,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 424,235 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 17.2% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,454,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,773,000 after buying an additional 213,075 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.3% in 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 valued at $203,659,000 after buying an additional 257,341 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,573 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $146,940,000 after buying an additional 34,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 895,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,422,000 after buying an additional 91,266 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.82.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:ATO opened at $168.49 on Friday. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $163.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.30. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $136.05 and a 52 week high of $169.96. The company has a market cap of $27.05 billion, a PE ratio of 23.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued 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 (DPR) 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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