National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 37,847 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 37,847 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.05% of Atmos Energy worth $11,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $180,834,000 after buying an additional 19,981 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,506,000 after acquiring an additional 66,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,558,000 after acquiring an additional 9,253 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.69.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

ATO stock traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $140.03. The company had a trading volume of 791,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,352. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.46 and a 52 week high of $152.65. The company has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.46.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 50.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.