Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $2.58 Million Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 603,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,920,000 after acquiring an additional 26,509 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $238,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $136.97 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $136.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $127.18 and its 200-day moving average is $119.99. The firm has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

About Atmos Energy

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.