Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 558 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,924 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 558 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,890,000 after buying an additional 34,555 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 636,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $88,311,000 after buying an additional 13,714 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 73,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO opened at $152.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $152.65.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

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.