Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Bought by Headlands Technologies LLC

Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 170.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $296,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,049,467,000 after acquiring an additional 538,578 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,356,000 after buying an additional 452,247 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 47.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,191,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,253,000 after buying an additional 382,167 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 168.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 511,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,196,000 after buying an additional 320,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $28,228,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $116.93 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28. The company has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.00.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on ATO shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.