Spirit of America Management Corp NY Boosts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $122,890,000 after buying an additional 34,555 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $88,311,000 after buying an additional 13,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 73,007 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $142.57 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The stock has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 25.04%. On average, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 50.66%.

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.