Scotia Capital Inc. Takes $1.31 Million Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Scotia Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $233,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,965 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,009,000 after buying an additional 14,794 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $1,607,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $432,749,000 after acquiring an additional 223,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 21,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:ATO traded up $1.62 on Friday, reaching $164.34. 1,416,091 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 980,694. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $26.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $126.18 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $154.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.64.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.