Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. 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. increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three 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 $134.71.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE ATO opened at $136.54 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $138.78.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.