TruWealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

TruWealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 18.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 710,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $82,918,000 after purchasing an additional 113,109 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 42,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,009,000 after buying an additional 12,084 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 69.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 5,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% in the second quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 4,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $145.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $142.80 and its 200 day moving average is $136.00. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

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.