T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $63.23 Million Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 1.8%, acquiring an additional 7,218 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total ownership to 409,037 shares valued at approximately $63.23 million.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Atmos Energy, with a current average target price of $158.27, reflecting a mix of ratings that include one Strong Buy, four Buy, and seven Hold ratings.
• Atmos Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, yielding approximately 2.1%, with the payout ratio standing at 47.80% as of the latest report.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 409,037 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,218 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.26% of Atmos Energy worth $63,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 12,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,249,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,305,000 after acquiring an additional 2,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,860 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 target price (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO traded down $0.84 on Thursday, hitting $165.42. 75,600 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 970,194. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $128.12 and a 1-year high of $168.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's 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.