1,923 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Purchased by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $206,538,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $147,516,000 after purchasing an additional 7,501 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 3.3 %

ATO traded up $4.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $149.91. The company had a trading volume of 319,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,454. The company has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $157.62. The business's fifty day moving average price is $148.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Company 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.