EP Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.69.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $139.85 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $105.27 and a 52-week high of $140.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $132.45 and its 200 day moving average is $122.57. The company has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

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.