Waterloo Capital L.P. Increases Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Waterloo Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares during the quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after purchasing an additional 38,459 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the 4th 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, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,077,000 after buying an additional 5,884 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $147.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $157.62. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.83.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ATO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

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.