Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 27,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,306 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

ATO opened at $142.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.46 and a one year high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.47.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 50.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ATO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.