Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Has $446,000 Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC cut its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 22.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 955 shares during the quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $446,000 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. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% in 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 248.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE ATO opened at $143.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $105.44 and a 52 week high of $144.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.28 and a 200-day moving average of $123.88.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.94.

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.