MetLife Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,187,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 160.9% during the 1st quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 19,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,033,000 after buying an additional 12,103 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $98,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 543,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,045,000 after buying an additional 81,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 112.5% during the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 74,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,653,000 after buying an additional 39,407 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Atmos Energy stock opened at $166.41 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $128.12 and a fifty-two week high of $168.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.78.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 47.80%.

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.