Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at $255,000. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 47.6% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 480,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,034,000 after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings 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 valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in Atmos Energy by 43.7% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 120,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,588,000 after acquiring an additional 36,670 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Argus set a $172.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.56.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.4%

ATO stock opened at $176.37 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $136.05 and a one year high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

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.