Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 42.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,317 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $58,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:ATO opened at $165.89 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.08. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $127.43 and a 52 week high of $167.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy 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.