Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Makes New $301,000 Investment in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,161 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.94.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $151.53. The stock had a trading volume of 926,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,655. The stock's 50 day moving average is $149.02 and its 200 day moving average is $144.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $157.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.