Norden Group LLC Acquires 140 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,890,000 after acquiring an additional 34,555 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,311,000 after acquiring an additional 13,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 73,007 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $149.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ATO. 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 report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

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.