Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. Increases Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 467.0% during the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $142.00 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $105.44 and a 52-week high of $142.85. 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 50-day moving average of $133.97 and a 200-day moving average of $123.74. The company has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on ATO. 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 Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.56.

Atmos Energy 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.