GAMMA Investing LLC Buys New Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. 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 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $119.06 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.90 and a 200-day moving average of $114.17.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

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.