abrdn plc Acquires 39,303 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

abrdn plc grew its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 94.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 39,303 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned about 0.05% of Atmos Energy worth $9,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,049,467,000 after purchasing an additional 538,578 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $952,356,000 after buying an additional 452,247 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,997,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,616,000 after buying an additional 24,962 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $168,482,000 after buying an additional 58,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,347,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $156,153,000 after buying an additional 74,654 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $116.93. 733,068 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 666,103. The firm has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $115.55 and a 200 day moving average of $114.00. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 51.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $124.33.

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.