Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by M&G Plc

M&G Plc lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 245,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,055 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc owned approximately 0.16% of Atmos Energy worth $34,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth $1,876,000. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 565.3% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,738,000 after purchasing an additional 34,515 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.6% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 419,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,960,000 after purchasing an additional 14,440 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 7.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 323,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,750,000 after purchasing an additional 22,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $138.88 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.52. The stock has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $107.82 and a fifty-two week high of $144.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.28%.

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.