Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Purchased by Lbp Am Sa

Lbp Am Sa raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares during the period. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,077,000 after acquiring an additional 5,884 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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 an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

ATO stock opened at $150.12 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.