Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Sets New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $144.51 and last traded at $143.78, with a volume of 344060 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $138.88.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.52.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $829,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 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.