Crestline Management LP Makes New Investment in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after acquiring an additional 5,543,451 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $432,749,000 after acquiring an additional 223,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,575 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $159.87 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.03. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.28.

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.