Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Increases Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 214.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,573 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in Atmos Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,520,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.4% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

ATO stock opened at $144.89 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $148.39. The firm has a market cap of $22.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $139.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.66%.

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.