BankPlus Trust Department Invests $175,000 in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $175,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,890,000 after purchasing an additional 34,555 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,311,000 after purchasing an additional 13,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,788,000 after purchasing an additional 73,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus raised 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 report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $150.46 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $152.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

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.