Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 37.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 17.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the second quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 1,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $139.75 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.46 and a 12 month high of $152.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 50.66%.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

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.