Sandy Spring Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sandy Spring Bank lifted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 39.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,360,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,446,000 after purchasing an additional 278,961 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. Mizuho raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.15.

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Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:ATO traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $150.10. The stock had a trading volume of 633,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,424. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $146.66 and a 200 day moving average of $142.95. The company has a market capitalization of $23.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date 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.