SlateStone Wealth LLC Has $1.07 Million Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. 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 note on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE ATO opened at $150.12 on Monday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $154.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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