Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes $3.01 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 21,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,008,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third 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 last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 29,745 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 818,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,266,000 after buying an additional 17,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,002,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report 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, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $150.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $154.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $145.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.