Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,949,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,214 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.21% of Atmos Energy worth $332,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after buying an additional 1,331 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 43.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after buying an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ATO stock opened at $170.37 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $170.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.42. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $138.77 and a twelve month high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ATO shares. Zacks Research raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.22.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.