Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Purchased by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 7.7% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $367,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.4% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $149.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $152.65. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.86.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.