Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Hits New 12-Month High at $138.93

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $138.93 and last traded at $138.71, with a volume of 641548 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $137.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.71.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $20.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.82.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after buying an additional 1,041,608 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $167,808,000 after purchasing an additional 446,292 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 205,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after purchasing an additional 196,163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.