Corient Private Wealth LLC Acquires 11,029 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,029 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of 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 set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $148.72 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $154.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

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%. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

About Atmos Energy

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.