Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Takes $3.87 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 27,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,868,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 17.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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, Mizuho boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

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 12-month low of $110.46 and a 12-month high of $152.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.