Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Purchased by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 200.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 281.3% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 562,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,208,000 after acquiring an additional 415,054 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,633,000 after acquiring an additional 61,708 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 24,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 7,141 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during 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. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 41,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,824,000 after acquiring an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $116.29. The company had a trading volume of 245,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,600. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $116.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Atmos Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.67.

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.