Cerity Partners LLC Has $9.40 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 32.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 67,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,409 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $9,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after acquiring an additional 19,981 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,506,000 after purchasing an additional 66,345 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,558,000 after buying an additional 9,253 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,890,000 after buying an additional 34,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,240,000 after acquiring an additional 196,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $150.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.46 and a 52-week high of $151.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.12.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.31.

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.