Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 28.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,612 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,096 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $122,890,000 after purchasing an additional 34,555 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $88,311,000 after purchasing an additional 13,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $77,788,000 after buying an additional 73,007 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $1.53 on Wednesday, reaching $148.23. The company had a trading volume of 724,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,832. The firm has a market cap of $23.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $143.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.96. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

About Atmos Energy

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.