Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Invests $1.57 Million in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,570,000. Atmos Energy makes up about 1.3% of Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,314,641,000 after buying an additional 127,199 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,243,000 after acquiring an additional 83,661 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after purchasing an additional 19,981 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,506,000 after purchasing an additional 66,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,558,000 after purchasing an additional 9,253 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $142.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $136.02 and a 200 day moving average of $124.91. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $105.44 and a one year high of $144.32.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

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.