Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Phillips Financial Management LLC

Phillips Financial Management LLC reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 37.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,983 shares during the quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock opened at $147.20 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $144.62 and its 200-day moving average is $141.66. The company has a market cap of $23.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $154.55.

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, 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%. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

About Atmos Energy

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.