Bfsg LLC Increases Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Bfsg LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 12,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.17.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE ATO traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $129.39. 503,327 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 889,746. The firm has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $132.24.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is 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.