Tectonic Advisors LLC Purchases 171 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.40.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $115.25 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $114.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.02. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.11%.

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.