Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Acquired by Keybank National Association OH

Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 394 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,529,000 after buying an additional 29,745 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $88,311,000 after buying an additional 13,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 617,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,023,000 after buying an additional 64,602 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

ATO opened at $148.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $144.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.18. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. Argus raised 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

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.