&Partners Raises Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

&Partners grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 16.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the quarter. &Partners’ holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 281.3% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 562,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,208,000 after purchasing an additional 415,054 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,633,000 after buying an additional 61,708 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 24,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 7,141 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,595,000 after acquiring an additional 50,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.6% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 41,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,824,000 after purchasing an additional 15,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.17.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $116.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $116.52 and a 200 day moving average of $115.49. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.