abrdn plc Purchases 39,303 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

abrdn plc boosted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 94.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,303 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $9,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 48.9% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $116.93 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28. The company has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.55 and its 200 day moving average is $113.98.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy 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 directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.