Capital International Investors Acquires 5,543,451 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 211.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned 5.14% of Atmos Energy worth $1,136,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,788,000 after purchasing an additional 73,007 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $442,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,299,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 33,932 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,707,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.39.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO traded down $1.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $158.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 677,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company's 50-day moving average is $150.77 and its 200-day moving average is $145.24. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $161.69. The firm has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.