Inspire Investing LLC Grows Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.70.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $176.45 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.05 and a 1 year high of $177.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.74. 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 announced its earnings results 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). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 47.80%.

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.