Venture Visionary Partners LLC Acquires 1,909 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 90.5%, acquiring an additional 1,909 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 4,019 shares valued at approximately $619,000.
• Atmos Energy Corporation reported earnings of $1.16 per share for the last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $1.17, with a net revenue of $838.77 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, yielding 2.1%, and its overall dividend payout ratio stands at 47.80%.

Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 90.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,909 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 424,235 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,333,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 257,341 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE ATO opened at $169.29 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.75. The stock has a market cap of $27.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $136.05 and a 12-month high of $171.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.The business had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $848.97 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $163.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Argus set a $172.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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