Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Has $208,000 Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 31.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 806 shares during the quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,162,713,000 after buying an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $167,808,000 after buying an additional 446,292 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 562,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,208,000 after acquiring an additional 415,054 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $32,941,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $132.26 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $133.27.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.17.

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.