Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $1.51 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 168,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. DC Investments Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. DC Investments Management LLC now owns 13,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 5,363 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $428,732,000 after buying an additional 58,391 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,249,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,073,000 after buying an additional 10,409 shares during the period. Finally, Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $250,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $159.87 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.28.

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.