PFS Partners LLC Takes Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. M&G Plc bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 205,300 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after acquiring an additional 196,163 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,544,000 after acquiring an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $16,316,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $144.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $138.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.80. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.40 and a fifty-two week high of $145.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 46.87%.

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.