Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stock Position Raised by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,647 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 888.1% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 12,193 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 293,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,857,000 after buying an additional 6,197 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 7,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 2,111 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11,208.3% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $310,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $149.60 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $146.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.83. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The firm has a market cap of $23.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.