Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Holdings Raised by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 37.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,166 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,367 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 10,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 168,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the period. DC Investments Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. DC Investments Management LLC now owns 13,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,249,896 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $174,073,000 after purchasing an additional 10,409 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $1.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.68. The stock had a trading volume of 998,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,526. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $153.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.13. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $167.45. The stock has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company 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 reduced their price target for the company 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Five equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.28.

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.