Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 804,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $112,002,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.51% of Atmos Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 214.5% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,279,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares during the last quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 6,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,319,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 77,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,805,000 after acquiring an additional 6,424 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. 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. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $148.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $154.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $144.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.27.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.