Quantinno Capital Management LP Raises Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 114.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,224 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,446,000 after buying an additional 278,961 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,221,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 205,300 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,240,000 after acquiring an additional 196,163 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,544,000 after acquiring an additional 139,429 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $141.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.70. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.46 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.