Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $4.12 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 30.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,337 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,608 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in Atmos Energy by 46.2% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after acquiring an additional 446,292 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $32,941,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3,712.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 185,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,449,000 after purchasing an additional 180,209 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $136.97 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 company has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.22. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $136.97.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.71.

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.