Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,735 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $12,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $76,360,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,149,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $155.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $155.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.64.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (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 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

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.