Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 888.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,193 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. 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 valued at $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $76,360,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during 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. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,446,000 after purchasing an additional 278,961 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 equities analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.15.

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Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock traded up $0.82 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $150.98. The stock had a trading volume of 661,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,615. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The company has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $146.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.