126,434 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 126,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $175,380,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 27,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,255,000 after buying an additional 1,552 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 99.1% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 16,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 8,367 shares during the period. Finally, Little House Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $140.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $105.44 and a 52-week high of $144.32.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 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 analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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 $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio 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.