Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Stock: Bahl & Gaynor LLC Reduces Position

Bahl & Gaynor LLC trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,690 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $36,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 627.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Downshift Financial LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2,514.3% during the 3rd quarter. Downshift Financial LLC now owns 183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $175.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $29.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.31. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $154.72 and a fifty-two week high of $192.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 28.50%. The firm had revenue of $837.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $873.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 9.10 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.09 per share. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 23rd. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 47.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Atmos Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $198.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Atmos Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.36.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas utility and pipeline operator headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company distributes natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers and operates natural gas transmission and storage assets. Its regulated distribution business serves customers in eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Through its pipeline and storage operations, Atmos Energy moves and stores natural gas, primarily in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.