Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Acquires 681 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 228,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,728,000 after buying an additional 14,377 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $203,000. Equitable Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $375,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $297,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 56,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,855,000 after buying an additional 5,126 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $149.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $144.27 and its 200-day moving average is $141.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $154.55.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 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.