W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Buys 1,093 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the first 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,073,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,180,000 after acquiring an additional 63,166 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.3% in 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 valued at $203,659,000 after acquiring an additional 257,341 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 9.3% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,011,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $155,868,000 after buying an additional 86,472 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $146,940,000 after purchasing an additional 34,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cowen began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 target price (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus set a $172.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays set a $175.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $178.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 129,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,188. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $136.05 and a fifty-two week high of $180.65. The company has a market cap of $28.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $171.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $754.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.97 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.2%. 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.