5,953 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Purchased by Arvest Investments Inc.

Arvest Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 5,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,454,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,773,000 after acquiring an additional 213,075 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $146,940,000 after acquiring an additional 34,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 895,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,422,000 after acquiring an additional 91,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE ATO opened at $166.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.75. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $133.90 and a one year high of $168.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on ATO shares. Barclays cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.27.

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.