Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Boosts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 10.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,386,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 17.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $259,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO opened at $142.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $141.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.32. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The firm has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.