Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 210 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,604,000 after purchasing an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $10,319,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $156.49 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $157.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced 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 net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.39.

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.