Waterloo Capital L.P. Purchases 2,075 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,259 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,075 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $1.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $151.13. 189,194 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 900,400. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $157.62.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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