Raymond James & Associates Buys 43,076 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 494,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 43,076 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.33% of Atmos Energy worth $58,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 538,578 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,162,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,997,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,616,000 after purchasing an additional 24,962 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $168,482,000 after purchasing an additional 58,966 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,595,000 after buying an additional 50,209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE ATO traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $119.32. 608,234 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 688,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. The business's 50-day moving average is $116.03 and its 200-day moving average is $114.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

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

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.