ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,632,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 206,519 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 1.16% of Atmos Energy worth $182,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $4,131,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 556,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,443,000 after buying an additional 36,977 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 77.8% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 91,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,882,000 after buying an additional 39,843 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 51.0% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 13,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,557,000 after buying an additional 4,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company’s stock.
Atmos Energy Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $113.80. The company had a trading volume of 37,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 812,315. The stock has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $112.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $97.71 and a 12 month high of $122.96.
Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 17.06% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 46.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.
Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 16th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.84%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.88.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.14, for a total transaction of $1,464,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 228,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,807,020.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Atmos Energy Company Profile
Atmos Energy Corp. engages in the provision of natural gas services. It operates under the Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage business segments. The Distribution segment is involved in regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations. The Pipeline and Storage segment includes pipeline and storage operations of Atmos Pipeline-Texas division and natural gas transmission operations.