Apollon Wealth Management LLC Has $787,000 Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,360,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,446,000 after purchasing an additional 278,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of ATO opened at $145.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $140.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.56. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.46 and a 52-week high of $152.65. The company has a market cap of $23.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Atmos Energy 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.