Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 528 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 17.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $142.31 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $141.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.50. The company has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.