Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 20,851 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 272,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,851 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Atmos Energy worth $31,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after buying an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in Atmos Energy by 46.2% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $167,808,000 after buying an additional 446,292 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at about $32,941,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 205,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $136.26 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $138.78. The company has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.85.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.