Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.81

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 7th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of 0.805 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, September 9th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th.

Atmos Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 8.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 40 years. Atmos Energy has a payout ratio of 45.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Atmos Energy to earn $7.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.22 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.4%.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $130.09 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $132.24. The stock has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.17.

Atmos Energy Company 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.