Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. lowered its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,923 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,049,467,000 after purchasing an additional 538,578 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $952,356,000 after acquiring an additional 452,247 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,997,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,616,000 after purchasing an additional 24,962 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,482,000 after purchasing an additional 58,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,347,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,153,000 after purchasing an additional 74,654 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Barclays upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $120.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $116.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.44. The company has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.19. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.