Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stake Boosted by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 170.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.6% in the third quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC now owns 2,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 9.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of ATO opened at $116.93 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.