Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 28,083 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 293,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,083 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $40,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,604,000 after purchasing an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $152.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.24. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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 price target of $149.15.

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.