Independence Bank of Kentucky Buys 1,645 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,595,000 after buying an additional 50,209 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth $1,876,000. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 565.3% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,738,000 after purchasing an additional 34,515 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth $32,941,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded up $1.09 on Friday, reaching $139.29. The stock had a trading volume of 29,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,652. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $133.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $105.44 and a 12 month high of $140.04.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.56.

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.