Voya Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,981 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 39.9% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 5,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 531,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,057,000 after acquiring an additional 23,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $9,970,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $163.46 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $161.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $134.95 and a 12 month high of $168.86.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.27.

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.