HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,127 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,576 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 598 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.15.

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Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

Atmos Energy stock traded down $2.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $148.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,908,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 921,665. The stock has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. 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 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 price of $146.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.43.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.