Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Makes New $298,000 Investment in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,140 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $125,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded down $1.87 on Tuesday, hitting $151.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 545,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,435. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $143.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $140.82. The firm has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.