Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 98,682 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 93,418 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 98,682 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $10,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,595,000 after acquiring an additional 50,209 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 24,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,862,000 after acquiring an additional 7,141 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,957,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,876,000. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 565.3% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,738,000 after buying an additional 34,515 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $137.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.75. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $138.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued 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 target price of $137.71.

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.