Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Short Interest Down 6.0% in August

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,210,000 shares, a decline of 6.0% from the August 15th total of 4,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 886,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $136.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $128.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.74. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $138.78.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after purchasing an additional 446,292 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $32,941,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 205,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.