Brooklyn FI LLC Buys Shares of 2,176 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 48.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,724,000 after acquiring an additional 6,372 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $12,106,000. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $346,000. Kinloch Capital LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 29,591 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,121,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $154.83. 3,090,005 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 940,824. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.48 and a fifty-two week high of $167.45. The company has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.44.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.35.

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.