Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $7,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,136,463,000 after acquiring an additional 5,543,451 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $432,749,000 after acquiring an additional 223,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $206,538,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO traded down $0.34 on Thursday, reaching $160.30. The company had a trading volume of 311,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 931,412. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $161.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.06.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

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.