BLB&B Advisors LLC Buys 621 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Atmos Energy by 248.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $143.11 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $135.75 and its 200 day moving average is $124.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $105.44 and a 1 year high of $144.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

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.