Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Holdings Boosted by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 31,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,386,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Atmos Energy by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 9,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $143.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.46 and a 12 month high of $152.65. The company has a market cap of $22.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.15.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 8.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.