Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $117.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28.

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). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.