Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $322,000 Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,760,000 after purchasing an additional 107,700 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $279,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 35,965 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,009,000 after buying an additional 14,794 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 16,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $155.38 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $24.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.64. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $155.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ATO. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

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.