Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lowered its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 462,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 118,859 shares during the quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Atmos Energy worth $64,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 8,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 994 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 41,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 136,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 228,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,728,000 after acquiring an additional 14,377 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

ATO stock traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.23. The stock had a trading volume of 724,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,832. The firm has a market cap of $23.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.96. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. 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.