Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Purchased by Williamson Legacy Group LLC

Williamson Legacy Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 183.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,642 shares during the quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.2% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 218,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,734,000 after acquiring an additional 10,842 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth about $282,487,000. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.6% during the second quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 52.3% in the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cowen began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.56.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $176.37 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $174.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.79. The stock has a market cap of $28.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $136.05 and a 52-week high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

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.