GAMMA Investing LLC Has $43.61 Million Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 21,802.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 280,821 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Atmos Energy worth $43,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $528,760,000 after purchasing an additional 107,700 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $432,749,000 after purchasing an additional 223,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,732,000 after purchasing an additional 58,391 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $152.22. 867,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 936,434. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $113.46 and a 52 week high of $167.45. 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 market cap of $24.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business posted $2.85 EPS. Atmos Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.