Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Stock: Machina Capital S.A.S. Cuts Position

Machina Capital S.A.S. decreased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 56.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,925 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth about $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at about $720,212,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $431,677,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $276,558,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $202,443,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $175.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $165.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.41. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $154.72 and a twelve month high of $192.51. The company has a market capitalization of $29.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The company had revenue of $837.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $873.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 9.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Monday, November 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 23rd. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 47.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Atmos Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $201.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Atmos Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $198.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.36.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas utility and pipeline operator headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company distributes natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers and operates natural gas transmission and storage assets. Its regulated distribution business serves customers in eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Through its pipeline and storage operations, Atmos Energy moves and stores natural gas, primarily in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.