Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $4.59 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 513.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,577 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,604,000 after purchasing an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded 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. Bank of America initiated 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $151.54. The company had a trading volume of 936,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,670. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The firm has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $145.02 and a 200 day moving average of $142.01. 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 (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 payout ratio 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.