Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $20.35 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,103 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,297 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Atmos Energy worth $20,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 598 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $148.82 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.

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