Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Purchases 3,419 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,419 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 72,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,452,000 after purchasing an additional 14,294 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 32,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,236 shares in the last quarter. Brady Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $206,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 377,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,732,000 after buying an additional 42,182 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,267,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded down $2.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $115.02. The company had a trading volume of 118,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,692. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $117.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.10. The company has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. Atmos Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.