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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.38%.

Atmos Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 35 consecutive years. Atmos Energy has a payout ratio of 45.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Up 2.5 %

Shares of ATO traded up $3.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $145.93. The company had a trading volume of 52,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 872,026. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.11. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $110.46 and a 52 week high of $152.65. The company has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72.

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 return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 25.04%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.