The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 124,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,063 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of Atmos Energy worth $17,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,136,463,000 after acquiring an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $206,538,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,360,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $162.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 652,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 940,698. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $25.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company's 50-day moving average is $153.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.61. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $163.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

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.