D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Atmos Energy worth $23,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $159.87 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $167.45. 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 50-day moving average of $153.61 and a 200-day moving average of $147.03.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.85 EPS. Atmos Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho downgraded Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.28.

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.