Jennison Associates LLC Increases Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO)

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,037,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,628 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.99% of Atmos Energy Corporation worth $86,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy Corporation by 2,710.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,380,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $740,992,000 after buying an additional 9,047,115 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy Corporation by 7.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,124,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $799,703,000 after buying an additional 712,731 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy Corporation by 18.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,738,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $216,330,000 after buying an additional 425,986 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Atmos Energy Corporation by 61.0% in the first quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 997,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000,000 after buying an additional 377,996 shares during the period. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy Corporation by 23.8% in the first quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 1,561,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $115,928,000 after buying an additional 300,332 shares during the period. 71.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE ATO) opened at 87.12 on Monday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $68.51 and a 52 week high of $88.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33 and a beta of 0.39.

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $526.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $596.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post $3.61 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Atmos Energy Corporation’s payout ratio is 48.13%.

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ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. J P Morgan Chase & Co reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $89.00 price target (up from $88.00) on shares of Atmos Energy Corporation in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Atmos Energy Corporation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 15th. Argus increased their price objective on Atmos Energy Corporation from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 13th. Barclays PLC reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy Corporation in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Finally, BidaskClub raised Atmos Energy Corporation from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.83.

In other Atmos Energy Corporation news, Director Richard A. Sampson bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $88.12 per share, for a total transaction of $132,180.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,360. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Atmos Energy Corporation

Atmos Energy Corporation is engaged primarily in the regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline businesses, as well as other nonregulated natural gas businesses. The Company operates through three segments: regulated distribution segment, which includes its regulated distribution and related sales operations; regulated pipeline segment, which includes the pipeline and storage operations of its Atmos Pipeline-Texas Division, and nonregulated segment, which includes its nonregulated natural gas management, nonregulated natural gas transmission, storage and other services.

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