Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stock Holdings Boosted by Reaves W H & Co. Inc.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 281.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 562,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 415,054 shares during the quarter. Atmos Energy comprises 2.4% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.37% of Atmos Energy worth $65,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ATO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $124.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO traded down $2.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $117.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,929,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,257. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $116.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.54. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 51.11%.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy 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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