1,625 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Purchased by Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC

Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $180,834,000 after acquiring an additional 19,981 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,506,000 after acquiring an additional 66,345 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,558,000 after acquiring an additional 9,253 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,890,000 after acquiring an additional 34,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after acquiring an additional 196,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $150.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.12. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $151.24.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% 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.