Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,484 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $11,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,360,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $152.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.10 and its 200-day moving average is $143.19. The stock has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its 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 return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid 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 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 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.