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

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.87 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, December 9th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81.

Atmos Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 8.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 41 years. Atmos Energy has a payout ratio of 48.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Atmos Energy to earn $7.67 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 45.4%.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $150.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 0.94. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $151.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.57. The company has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.68.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.31.

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.