Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Purchases 15,362 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 198,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,362 shares during the quarter. Atmos Energy accounts for approximately 0.6% of Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $27,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 710,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $82,918,000 after acquiring an additional 113,109 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 52.2% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 25,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,983,000 after purchasing an additional 8,774 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 13.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 288,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,064,000 after buying an additional 34,493 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 60.4% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 28,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,370,000 after acquiring an additional 10,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 51.7% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 84,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,894,000 after purchasing an additional 28,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $139.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.46 and a 52 week high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.66%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.