Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Grows Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 236,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Atmos Energy worth $27,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,633,000 after acquiring an additional 61,708 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 138,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,012,000 after acquiring an additional 59,979 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 29.6% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,479 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 46,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,908,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $116.93. The company had a trading volume of 733,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,753. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.