2,387 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Bought by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised 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 worth $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised 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 worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised 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 worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $176.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $136.05 and a 52 week high of $179.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. 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 payout ratio is 47.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. TD Cowen raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays set a $175.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.44.

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.