Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.87

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th, RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date 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 raised its dividend annually for the last 41 consecutive years. Atmos Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 45.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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

Atmos Energy stock opened at $149.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $141.95 and a 200-day moving average of $139.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

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.