Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 516,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 35,685 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.33% of Atmos Energy worth $71,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,788,000 after purchasing an additional 73,007 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $442,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 6.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth $2,299,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Atmos Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 33,932 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,707,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.39.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $159.66. 1,498,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 925,687. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $151.03 and a 200-day moving average of $145.34. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $161.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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 $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 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.