Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 59,133 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,237,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $206,538,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $76,360,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,149,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.94.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE ATO traded up $2.24 on Friday, reaching $151.53. The company had a trading volume of 926,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,655. 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 $157.62. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day moving average is $149.02 and its 200-day moving average is $144.39.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. 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.