Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by CX Institutional

CX Institutional decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.56.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $142.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.44 and a fifty-two week high of $142.85.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

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.