Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Buys 105 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 205,300 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,240,000 after buying an additional 196,163 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,544,000 after buying an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $16,316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $139.89. The stock had a trading volume of 67,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,821. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $106.69 and a one year high of $144.32. The company has a market capitalization of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ATO. 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 target for the company. Barclays lifted 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. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.94.

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.