MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Trust Point Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geller Advisors LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, 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 is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.5%

ATO stock traded down $0.86 on Tuesday, hitting $156.42. 911,566 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,623. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $167.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $155.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.35.

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.