7,913 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Bought by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 7,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $138.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $138.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.12 and a 200-day moving average of $120.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

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.