Ledyard National Bank Acquires 4,109 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Ledyard National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 227.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,109 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. Mizuho increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ATO traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $142.09. 261,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,565. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 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 0.80. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $141.10 and a 200-day moving average of $138.50.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.