Eastern Bank Takes Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 44,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,189,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 248.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. 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 recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $141.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $135.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $105.44 and a 52-week high of $144.32. The firm has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.28%.

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.