Farther Finance Advisors LLC Sells 371 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 371 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $233,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 513.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 32,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,588,000 after acquiring an additional 27,577 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 51,495 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $150.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, 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 current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $145.61 and its 200-day moving average is $142.31. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy 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.