American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,741,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 363,444 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.10% of Atmos Energy worth $242,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.15.

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Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO traded up $0.82 on Thursday, reaching $150.98. 661,547 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 823,615. The stock has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $146.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.00.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

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.