Amalgamated Bank Acquires 12,084 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,084 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,595,000 after acquiring an additional 50,209 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 24,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after buying an additional 7,141 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,957,000 after buying an additional 6,641 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth $1,876,000. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 565.3% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after acquiring an additional 34,515 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $136.56 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $138.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.05. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Atmos Energy Company 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.