Truist Financial Corp Acquires 981 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 141.2% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $174.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.39. 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 $136.05 and a 12 month high of $175.49.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.80%.

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.