First Personal Financial Services Has $94,000 Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

First Personal Financial Services lowered its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 14.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 678 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services’ holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $94,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 205,300 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,240,000 after purchasing an additional 196,163 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,544,000 after purchasing an additional 139,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,314,641,000 after purchasing an additional 127,199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE ATO opened at $144.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.29 and a 200-day moving average of $126.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.40 and a 52 week high of $145.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 46.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. Barclays lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

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.