Apollon Wealth Management LLC Has $787,000 Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $125,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $145.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $140.98 and its 200-day moving average is $138.63. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.46 and a one year 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 0.80.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.