AIA Group Ltd Has $290,000 Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

AIA Group Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,666 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 248.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 158.3% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the second quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 1,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $144.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.40 and a one year high of $145.27. 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 fifty day moving average price of $138.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.87.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted 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. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 46.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.94.

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.