Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Bought by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 856.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $206,538,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $76,360,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $155.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.64. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $155.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.