Bleakley Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 1,572 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ATO. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in 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 during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $146.30 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.81. The stock has a market cap of $23.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy 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.