Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 889 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Bank of America started 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. Mizuho lifted 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $152.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $152.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $142.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.31.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.