Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.87

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.87 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, March 10th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th.

Atmos Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 35 years. Atmos Energy has a payout ratio of 45.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Atmos Energy to earn $7.73 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.0%.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $145.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $141.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 8.83%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.