Little House Capital LLC Raises Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Little House Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 562,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,208,000 after acquiring an additional 415,054 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,633,000 after purchasing an additional 61,708 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 24,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,862,000 after purchasing an additional 7,141 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,595,000 after purchasing an additional 50,209 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 41,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,824,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ATO. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $116.26. 487,704 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 915,011. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.58. The stock has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

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.