First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth $1,876,000. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 565.3% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,738,000 after buying an additional 34,515 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at $32,941,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $3,010,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ATO opened at $138.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $107.82 and a one year high of $144.32.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ATO. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.94.

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.