Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stake Boosted by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,633,000 after purchasing an additional 61,708 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 46,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 189,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,040,000 after purchasing an additional 39,970 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.40.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $116.23 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.81 and its 200-day moving average is $113.19. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 51.11%.

Atmos Energy 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.