Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Holdings Lowered by Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc.

Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. decreased its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 39.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,449 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,446,000 after buying an additional 278,961 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $32,221,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 45.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,544,000 after purchasing an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $139.55 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.46 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.96. The company has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ATO. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Company 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.