77,057 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Acquired by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 77,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,732,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares 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 buying an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $76,360,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,446,000 after buying an additional 278,961 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Argus raised 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 equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $147.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $154.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

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.