HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,576 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on ATO. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $151.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.17.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. 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.