Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $8.91 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 141.2% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 11,200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Cowen started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. TD Cowen raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $175.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE ATO opened at $175.64 on Tuesday. 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 $180.65. The company has a market capitalization of $28.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.92.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Atmos Energy 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.