CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Purchases 5,091 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

by · The Cerbat Gem

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 191,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,091 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $26,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,538,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $76,360,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,836,526,000 after buying an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $432,749,000 after buying an additional 223,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $157.37 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $150.32 and its 200-day moving average is $144.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $159.20.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.39.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on ATO

Atmos Energy Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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