Huntington National Bank Purchases 17,481 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 362,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,481 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank owned 0.23% of Atmos Energy worth $50,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 9,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE ATO traded down $2.95 on Monday, reaching $144.86. 606,783 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 912,388. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $157.62. The company has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $148.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.15.

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.