Natixis Advisors L.P. Trims Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Natixis Advisors L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 73,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,923 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 10,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,161,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 15,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,019,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,140,000 after purchasing an additional 42,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 111,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $120.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.44. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28. The firm has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.66 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. Atmos Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.