Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $635,000 Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 51.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 116,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,832,000 after buying an additional 39,289 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 11,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 226,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,902,000 after acquiring an additional 35,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,941,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO opened at $144.37 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $148.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $139.18 and a 200 day moving average of $127.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.87%.

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.