Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Bought by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,213,925,000 after purchasing an additional 424,235 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,333,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 2,713.2% during the 1st quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 305,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,266,000 after purchasing an additional 294,900 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 24.3% during the 1st 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 worth $203,659,000 after purchasing an additional 257,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 93.8% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 444,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,705,000 after purchasing an additional 215,157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ATO. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Argus set a $172.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.70.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $176.45 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.00. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $136.05 and a 12-month high of $177.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.74. 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 (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.80%.

Atmos Energy 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.