Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,303 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $107,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 603,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,920,000 after buying an additional 26,509 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 11,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,377,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 5,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $138.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $138.78.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.