Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 5,668 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,668 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Atmos Energy worth $23,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 248.5% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 158.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 1,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $137.67 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $137.41 and a 200 day moving average of $126.29. The company has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $107.82 and a 1-year high of $144.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.94.

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.