Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 775 shares during the quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,529,000 after purchasing an additional 29,745 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 818,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,266,000 after purchasing an additional 17,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $150.12 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $154.55. The company has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.01.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.