AM Squared Ltd Takes $169,000 Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

AM Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $169,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $127,941,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $104,567,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 7.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,649,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,533,627,000 after buying an additional 912,138 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,815,000 after buying an additional 547,260 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 24.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,756,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $329,399,000 after buying an additional 533,372 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $126.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Atmos Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $132.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $1,468,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 212,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,952,711.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $113.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.62. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $97.71 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $118.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.82.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.03). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 19.02% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $662.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.68%.

Atmos Energy Company 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.