ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 30,501 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,544,690 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 30,501 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $180,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 467.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $136.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $138.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.05.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.71.

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.