Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 7,834 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 2.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 348,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,834 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $53,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 141.2% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11,200.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $59,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on ATO. Cowen started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.56.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $174.89 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $136.05 and a 52 week high of $180.65. The firm has a market cap of $28.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.37. 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 (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.