Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Purchased by Tectonic Advisors LLC

Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 205,300 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after acquiring an additional 196,163 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 45.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,544,000 after acquiring an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at $16,316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

ATO stock opened at $140.72 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $105.44 and a 52 week high of $144.32. The company has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.08.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

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.