Invesco Ltd. Purchases 223,809 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 223,809 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.96% of Atmos Energy worth $432,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,077,000 after purchasing an additional 5,884 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 114.3% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,417 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 8,224 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 31.3% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 79,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,001,000 after acquiring an additional 37,847 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded up $3.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $154.50. 95,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 901,511. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.01, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $149.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.39.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 49.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.94.

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.