Natixis Advisors LLC Has $12.79 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 91,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,176 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $12,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,529,000 after acquiring an additional 29,745 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 818,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,266,000 after purchasing an additional 17,004 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $112,002,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America assumed 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 on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $150.81 on Thursday. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $145.83 and a 200-day moving average of $142.37. The company has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.31%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

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.