AlphaQuest LLC Trims Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 65.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,760 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $76,360,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,446,000 after buying an additional 278,961 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $148.82 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.62.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.