BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 60.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,880 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,520,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.4% in the first quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 12,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $137.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.75. The stock has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $138.78.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its 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. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.71.

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.