Choreo LLC Acquires 1,603 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 39.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $76,360,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,446,000 after purchasing an additional 278,961 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at about $32,221,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE ATO opened at $142.49 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.46 and a 52 week high of $152.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $141.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.50.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ATO. 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 upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

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.