R Squared Ltd Takes Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 191.2% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 141.2% in the first 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 period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays set a $175.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $176.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.65. The stock has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.05 and a 1 year high of $179.70. 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 Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

Atmos Energy 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.