Mackenzie Financial Corp Lowers Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 56.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 51,824 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,162,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 46.2% during the first 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 first quarter worth about $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 205,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,240,000 after purchasing an additional 196,163 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.71.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $138.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $131.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.99. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $139.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm 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 firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

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.