Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Bought by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 158.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $140.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.00. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.46 and a 1-year high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.66%.

Atmos Energy Company 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.