AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Takes $679,000 Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $679,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $150.98 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $154.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.06.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

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.