Wells Fargo & Company MN Trims Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,167,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 90,373 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $162,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $147.64 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.22 and its 200 day moving average is $143.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $157.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

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.