Global Retirement Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Global Retirement Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 81.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,842 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ATO. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective 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 initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded up $2.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.30. 1,071,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 906,012. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.56. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $152.65. The company has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.