Aristotle Capital Management LLC Has $1.13 Billion Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Aristotle Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,115,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 113,417 shares during the period. Atmos Energy accounts for 2.2% of Aristotle Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned 5.11% of Atmos Energy worth $1,130,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on ATO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,042,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 941,459. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $162.87. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.