Bfsg LLC Purchases 110 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Bfsg LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the quarter. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,049,467,000 after purchasing an additional 538,578 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,356,000 after purchasing an additional 452,247 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 47.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,191,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,253,000 after purchasing an additional 382,167 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 511,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,196,000 after purchasing an additional 320,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,228,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $118.66. The company had a trading volume of 728,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 827,680. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $115.30 and its 200 day moving average is $113.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy 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.