Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 16.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,314,641,000 after buying an additional 127,199 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,243,000 after buying an additional 83,661 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after buying an additional 19,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,506,000 after buying an additional 66,345 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $136.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $138.78. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.85.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Atmos Energy 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.