Phillips Financial Management LLC Sells 8,983 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Phillips Financial Management LLC cut its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,983 shares during the period. Phillips Financial Management LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

ATO stock traded up $1.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $151.54. The company had a trading volume of 936,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,670. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $154.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.02 and a 200 day moving average of $142.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

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Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 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%. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ATO. Mizuho increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus raised shares of 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.75.

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.