iSAM Funds UK Ltd Grows Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 541.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,403,000 after buying an additional 1,287,325 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,628,000 after buying an additional 1,017,575 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $112,002,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.6%

ATO stock opened at $158.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $154.76 and its 200 day moving average is $147.77. The stock has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Atmos Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.15.

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.