Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $59.20 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 425,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,382 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $59,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd 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. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during 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 in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 17.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $142.49 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.46 and a 52-week high of $152.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its 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%. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 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.