Invesco Ltd. Buys 91,254 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,082,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,254 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.92% of Atmos Energy worth $475,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $282,487,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,213,925,000 after acquiring an additional 424,235 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at about $65,333,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,899,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,699,000 after buying an additional 362,894 shares during the period. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,713.2% in the first quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 305,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,266,000 after purchasing an additional 294,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $171.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $174.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $136.05 and a 12-month high of $180.65. The company has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 25.49%.The business had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ATO. Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.67.

Atmos Energy Company 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.