Allworth Financial LP Has $187,000 Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 32.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $187,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $149.87 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.77. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The company has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.