Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 43,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 340 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew 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 buying an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $122,890,000 after acquiring an additional 34,555 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $88,311,000 after acquiring an additional 13,714 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 73,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $139.55 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.46 and a 12 month high of $152.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $142.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.81.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 50.66%.

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.