Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Invests $753,000 in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,604,000 after purchasing an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $10,319,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $159.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $167.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $153.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.28.

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.

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