AGF Management Ltd. Sells 2,067 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

AGF Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,067 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.4% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 16,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 5.9% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 6,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,054,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 109,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,969,000 after acquiring an additional 18,753 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ATO stock opened at $178.73 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $136.05 and a fifty-two week high of $180.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. 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’s fifty day moving average is $171.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $754.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus set a $172.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 target price (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.44.

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.