PDT Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 1,600 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,221,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 205,300 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after acquiring an additional 196,163 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,544,000 after acquiring an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $175,380,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $143.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.70. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.46 and a 1-year high of $152.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.69.

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.