Greenleaf Trust Has $352,000 Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Golden State Equity Partners grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 28,909.1% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 3,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 3,180 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 112.4% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 47,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,573,000 after acquiring an additional 24,979 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 3,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $76,360,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Atmos Energy by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 279,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,859,000 after purchasing an additional 85,439 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $145.01 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.46 and a one year high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $141.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.15.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 8.83%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% 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.