International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 128,243 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 128,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,863,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd 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 grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third 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 raised its position in Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 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, UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

ATO opened at $119.32 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $116.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.23. The stock has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

About Atmos Energy

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.