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

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,263 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.11% of Atmos Energy worth $23,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,295,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 690,440 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $96,158,000 after buying an additional 6,249 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 259,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,080,000 after acquiring an additional 74,298 shares during the period. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $1,674,000. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $635,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Atmos Energy stock traded up $2.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $151.53. 926,194 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 903,713. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $157.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $149.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.34.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued 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 2.30%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 49.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.15.

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.