NEOS Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,238 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. 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 target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $152.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.30.

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, 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%. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.