11,527 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Acquired by RD Lewis Holdings Inc.

RD Lewis Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,643,000. Atmos Energy accounts for 1.9% of RD Lewis Holdings Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,360,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $40,446,000 after buying an additional 278,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of ATO traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $148.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,937,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,442. The stock has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50 day moving average price is $146.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $154.55.

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Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Bank of America assumed 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 raised 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.15.

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.