Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Has $86.02 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 617,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,602 shares during the period. Atmos Energy accounts for 2.3% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned 0.40% of Atmos Energy worth $86,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE ATO opened at $153.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. 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’s 50-day moving average is $143.39 and its 200-day moving average is $140.82. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.04.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.