Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,618,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 180,320 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 1.02% of Atmos Energy worth $225,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 598 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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 lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.94.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Atmos Energy
Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.5 %
ATO traded up $0.79 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $155.77. 175,300 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 902,235. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $157.62. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $149.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.
Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.
Atmos Energy Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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