PAX Financial Group LLC Buys 204 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

PAX Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. PAX Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,077,000 after buying an additional 5,884 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $249,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 25.4% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 72,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,103,000 after purchasing an additional 14,714 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 5,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $147.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $157.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.79.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.