Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Acquired by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 39.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $148.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $154.55. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly 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, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho upped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.