Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stake Lowered by Gen Wealth Partners Inc

Gen Wealth Partners Inc trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 162.3% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 3,053 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 97,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,589,000 after buying an additional 29,373 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 45,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,290,000 after acquiring an additional 12,367 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 10,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 168,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $159.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $167.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

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.