Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 5,687.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,544 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Atmos Energy worth $12,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,529,000 after acquiring an additional 29,745 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 818,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,266,000 after acquiring an additional 17,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $112,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $150.12 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $154.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $145.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.84. The stock has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

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.