Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Reduces Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 154,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $17,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 7.2% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,649,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,533,627,000 after acquiring an additional 912,138 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,815,000 after acquiring an additional 547,260 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 24.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,756,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $329,399,000 after acquiring an additional 533,372 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Atmos Energy by 5.1% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,772,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,287,188,000 after acquiring an additional 527,261 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Atmos Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,356,000 after acquiring an additional 452,247 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $113.99 on Monday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.40.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 51.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

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.