RD Lewis Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 11,527 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,643,000. Atmos Energy comprises approximately 1.9% of RD Lewis Holdings Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $1,897,000. 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after buying an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $151.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.17. The firm has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. Mizuho increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.