Huntington National Bank Buys 17,481 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,481 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank owned approximately 0.23% of Atmos Energy worth $50,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after purchasing an additional 38,459 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,077,000 after purchasing an additional 5,884 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. 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 note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $154.93 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $155.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.47 and its 200 day moving average is $143.56. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 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.