By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Free Report) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,735 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $12,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 9,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.
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Atmos Energy Price Performance
NYSE ATO opened at $155.38 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.64. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $155.62. The stock has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. 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 – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.
Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement
The firm 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. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.
Further Reading
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