T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $55.96 Million Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,701 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.25% of Atmos Energy worth $55,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $528,760,000 after purchasing an additional 107,700 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $432,749,000 after purchasing an additional 223,809 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $206,538,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO traded down $0.34 on Thursday, hitting $160.30. 311,355 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,412. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $161.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $152.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $146.06.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.28.

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.