Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Purchased by Capital International Investors

Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 211.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned 0.05% of Atmos Energy worth $1,136,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,760,000 after purchasing an additional 107,700 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $432,749,000 after buying an additional 223,809 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $206,538,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $147,516,000 after buying an additional 7,501 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

ATO stock opened at $157.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $159.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.81.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.39.

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.