Amundi Acquires 17,004 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Amundi boosted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 818,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,004 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.53% of Atmos Energy worth $114,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,360,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,446,000 after buying an additional 278,961 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.75.

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Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE ATO traded up $3.09 on Friday, reaching $150.12. The company had a trading volume of 795,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 829,249. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company's fifty day moving average is $144.79 and its 200 day moving average is $141.70. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 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.