Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.87 Per Share

by · The Cerbat Gem

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of 0.87 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81.

Atmos Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 40 years. Atmos Energy has a payout ratio of 45.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Atmos Energy to earn $7.15 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 45.0%.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.88. 1,131,343 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 872,894. 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 has a 1 year low of $107.82 and a 1 year high of $144.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.43. The stock has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ATO. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.94.

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About Atmos Energy

(Get Free Report)

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.

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