Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Invests $4.51 Million in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 26,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,510,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 30.4% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 8.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 24.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 6.6% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $165.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.91 and a 200 day moving average of $167.66. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.77. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $138.77 and a one year high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. As a group, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $172.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.11.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.