LMR Partners LLP Acquires 462 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

LMR Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,788,000 after buying an additional 73,007 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,688,000 after buying an additional 2,036 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.9%

Atmos Energy stock opened at $152.24 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $167.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $153.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

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.