Little House Capital LLC Purchases 3,186 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Little House Capital LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,186 shares during the quarter. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% during the 2nd 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 lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after purchasing an additional 196,163 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $51,544,000 after purchasing an additional 139,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $16,316,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.55 on Monday, reaching $142.71. 174,450 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 874,949. The company has a market capitalization of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $105.44 and a 52 week high of $144.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $134.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.29. 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 (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

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.