Cerity Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 194.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,481 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $786,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $118.08 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $115.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.80.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

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.