First Trust Advisors LP Sells 35,685 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 516,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 35,685 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.33% of Atmos Energy worth $71,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% during 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 buying an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $840,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $10,319,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $156.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $150.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.13. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $159.20. The stock has a market cap of $24.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.39.

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.