Quantinno Capital Management LP Increases Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,028 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,611 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO traded down $1.78 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $155.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,134,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,631. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $167.45. The company has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $154.97 and a 200-day moving average of $147.96.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. Atmos Energy'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 year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.