MAI Capital Management Acquires 504 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 47.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 9.6% in the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 480,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,034,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 267.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 120,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,588,000 after acquiring an additional 36,670 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on ATO. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays set a $175.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.56.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $175.94 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $136.05 and a twelve month high of $180.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The firm had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.