Bank of America Corp DE Raises Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 146.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,017,575 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.08% of Atmos Energy worth $238,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded down $1.38 on Friday, reaching $159.87. 1,106,961 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 935,294. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $167.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.61 and a 200-day moving average of $147.00. The firm has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 48.33%.

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.