American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 17.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,741,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 363,444 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $242,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $76,360,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,446,000 after acquiring an additional 278,961 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $148.72 on Friday. 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 one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS 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 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.