Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. reduced its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,369 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $233,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 32.6% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.5% during the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 7,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,196,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 886,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,719,000 after buying an additional 67,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 173,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,843,000 after acquiring an additional 2,633 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $167.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.09. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $136.16 and a 12 month high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 25.49%.The firm had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $172.00 target price (down from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.22.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.