Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $13.59 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 43.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,575 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,373 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $13,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE ATO traded up $1.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $157.61. 1,206,158 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 932,316. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. 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 fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $167.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $154.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.48.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. The firm's revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.15.

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.