Ascent Group LLC Trims Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Ascent Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,285 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,392 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $180,834,000 after acquiring an additional 19,981 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $177,506,000 after buying an additional 66,345 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,558,000 after buying an additional 9,253 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 885,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $122,890,000 after buying an additional 34,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $85,240,000 after buying an additional 196,163 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

ATO traded down $2.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $143.95. 902,326 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,762. The business's 50 day moving average is $142.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.57. The stock has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Atmos Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.69.

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.