Q3 Asset Management Takes Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Q3 Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,760,000 after purchasing an additional 107,700 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $432,749,000 after buying an additional 223,809 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $428,732,000 after buying an additional 58,391 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on Atmos Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.95.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $154.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $154.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.37. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $119.90 and a 12 month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted 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 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. Atmos Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.