Xponance Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 22,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,897,000. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.5% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 11,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $148.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $154.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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 net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

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.