Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Decreases Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,766 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $11,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,213,925,000 after acquiring an additional 424,235 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,317,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $203,659,000 after buying an additional 257,341 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,011,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $155,868,000 after buying an additional 86,472 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $146,940,000 after buying an additional 34,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 895,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,422,000 after buying an additional 91,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $175.00 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $136.05 and a 1-year high of $180.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $171.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Barclays set a $175.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Cowen began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Company 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.