Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $31.73 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 14,377 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Atmos Energy worth $31,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $180,834,000 after acquiring an additional 19,981 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $177,506,000 after purchasing an additional 66,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $123,558,000 after purchasing an additional 9,253 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. Argus raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $140.06. 215,674 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,380. The company has a market cap of $21.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's fifty day moving average is $143.34 and its 200 day moving average is $133.20. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.66%.

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.