Atmos Energy Co. (ATO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.87 on March 10th

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given 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 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th.

Atmos Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 8.7% per year 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% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $145.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $110.46 and a 1-year high of $152.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $141.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.15.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ATO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. 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 research note on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho upped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.