Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Makes New $10.73 Million Investment in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 77,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,732,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,360,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,446,000 after acquiring an additional 278,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE ATO opened at $147.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $154.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.62 and a 200-day moving average of $141.66. The company has a market cap of $23.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

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.