Jacobi Capital Management LLC Has $1.18 Million Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,355,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $152.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $152.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $143.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.48.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.