Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Has $146.96 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,236,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,929 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.82% of Atmos Energy worth $146,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 46.2% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $167,808,000 after purchasing an additional 446,292 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 281.3% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 562,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,208,000 after purchasing an additional 415,054 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at about $32,941,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $126.89. The company had a trading volume of 79,173 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,137. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $19.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $127.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $117.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.15.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 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, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.67.

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.