Kennedy Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,255 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 11.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 187.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ATO stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.99. 55,546 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 901,434. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $128.49. The stock has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $117.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.32.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio 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.