Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Makes New $37,000 Investment in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 73,007 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 228,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,728,000 after purchasing an additional 14,377 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 85.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.9%

ATO opened at $159.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $167.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $153.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.03.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

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.