Inspire Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 4,018 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $469,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 467.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $136.97 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $127.63 and its 200 day moving average is $120.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $21.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $136.97.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.

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.