D.A. Davidson & CO. Boosts Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth about $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America started 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, Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $149.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.77. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Atmos Energy Company 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.