MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 28.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.4% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 20.6% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 109,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,969,000 after purchasing an additional 18,753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ATO. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Argus set a $172.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $176.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.82. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.05 and a 1 year high of $179.70. The company has a market capitalization of $28.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.