Dearborn Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 269,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,848 shares during the quarter. Atmos Energy comprises 1.6% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $37,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,360,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,446,000 after acquiring an additional 278,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO opened at $149.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $144.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.49. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $154.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.