Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 196,163 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 196,163 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $85,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.3% during the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,520,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.4% in the first quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 12,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $136.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $129.30 and its 200-day moving average is $120.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $138.78.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

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.