Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Invests $233,000 in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of ATO opened at $150.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

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.