SlateStone Wealth LLC Acquires 250 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $150.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.01. The firm has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded 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 note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.