Vest Financial LLC Increases Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 397,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,367 shares during the period. Atmos Energy comprises about 1.0% of Vest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $55,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $122,890,000 after purchasing an additional 34,555 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,311,000 after purchasing an additional 13,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,788,000 after purchasing an additional 73,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $142.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.19. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.46 and a twelve month high of $152.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 25.04%. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.