SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Free Report) by 154.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,546 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have recently commented on ATO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.67.
Read Our Latest Research Report on ATO
Atmos Energy Stock Performance
Shares of ATO stock opened at $120.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28.
Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.
Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.
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.
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