Albert D Mason Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Albert D Mason Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 45.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,832 shares during the period. Atmos Energy makes up 1.4% of Albert D Mason Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Albert D Mason Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $167.99 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $136.16 and a 12-month high of $180.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $173.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $172.00 price target (down previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the sale, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.