Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 38.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,303 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 10.4% during the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 36,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,208,000 after acquiring an additional 3,410 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 10.2% during the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 47,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,562,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 30.9% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 35,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after acquiring an additional 8,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.5% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 374,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,668,000 after buying an additional 41,722 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $138.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.63. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $138.78. The stock has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.71.

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.