Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Makes New $3.87 Million Investment in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 27,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,868,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $76,360,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,446,000 after acquiring an additional 278,961 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,221,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $146.67 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.17. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Atmos Energy Company 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.