Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 4,750 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,750 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,314,641,000 after purchasing an additional 127,199 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,243,000 after buying an additional 83,661 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after buying an additional 19,981 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,506,000 after buying an additional 66,345 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $123,558,000 after acquiring an additional 9,253 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $138.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $21.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $136.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $106.69 and a twelve month high of $144.32.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company earned $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Company 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.