Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Altus Wealth Group LLC

Altus Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $814,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 44,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,171,000 after purchasing an additional 11,029 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 91,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,791,000 after buying an additional 3,176 shares during the period. LBP AM SA lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 9,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 25,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,529,000 after buying an additional 1,922 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 5,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 848 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 subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $150.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $154.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $145.02 and its 200-day moving average is $141.92. The firm has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.