PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 634,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,658 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $88,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Atmos Energy by 10.7% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 228,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,728,000 after acquiring an additional 14,377 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $375,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ATO. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $148.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $144.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.27. 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 quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

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.