Blue Trust Inc. Sells 2,451 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,451 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 9,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ATO. Argus upgraded 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 report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:ATO traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $149.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,057,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 897,382. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.95 and a 200-day moving average of $139.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is 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.