Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 74,092 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,319,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.23. 724,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 902,832. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $143.58 and a 200 day moving average of $140.96. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72.

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, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Atmos Energy Company 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.