2,140 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Purchased by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $152.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $142.85 and its 200-day moving average is $140.31.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.