Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1,532.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 205,300 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.14% of Atmos Energy worth $25,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 603,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,920,000 after purchasing an additional 26,509 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,757,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 377,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,732,000 after purchasing an additional 42,182 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

ATO stock opened at $136.26 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $138.78. The company has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Atmos Energy Profile

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.