Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases 12,193 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 888.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,193 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,529,000 after buying an additional 29,745 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 818,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,266,000 after buying an additional 17,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $112,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $148.72 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $146.29 and a 200 day moving average of $142.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G 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.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

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.