Tectonic Advisors LLC Raises Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $523,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.3% during the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.4% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 23,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $140.72 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $105.44 and a 1 year high of $144.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $136.25 and its 200-day moving average is $125.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.