Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys Shares of 2,161 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 11.2% during 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 during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

ATO opened at $144.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $148.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.94. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $157.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio 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.