MGB Wealth Management LLC Acquires 194 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

MGB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 194 shares during the quarter. MGB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $146.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $141.00 and its 200-day moving average is $138.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, 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.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Mizuho lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

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.