NEOS Investment Management LLC Has $845,000 Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 17,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Atmos Energy by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 16,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 3,356 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 293,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,797,000 after purchasing an additional 28,083 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 78.1% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 113,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,845,000 after purchasing an additional 49,881 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ATO. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted 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, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

ATO opened at $152.40 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

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.