Stonegate Investment Group LLC Sells 173 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC lowered its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $349,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.0% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,155,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 15,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 5,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ATO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $143.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, 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. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $105.44 and a 52-week high of $144.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.24.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 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.