Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 64,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,576 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after purchasing an additional 38,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE ATO opened at $151.54 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $145.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price objective 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.