Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Bought by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $1,876,000. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 565.3% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,738,000 after acquiring an additional 34,515 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,941,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,010,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $143.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.28 and a 200-day moving average of $123.88. The firm has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $105.44 and a 12 month high of $144.18.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.

About Atmos Energy

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.