Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 27.1% in the third quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 2,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at $6,189,000. Ledyard National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $251,000. Finally, Little House Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 7,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 3,186 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $141.91 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $105.44 and a 52 week high of $144.32. The company has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

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.