Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 155,723 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 48.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 155,723 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $23,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after purchasing an additional 196,163 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 45.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 444,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,544,000 after purchasing an additional 139,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $16,316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $140.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $136.25 and a 200 day moving average of $125.08. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $105.44 and a one year high of $144.32.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Atmos Energy 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.