MQS Management LLC Has $349,000 Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

MQS Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 38.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,901 shares during the quarter. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 127,199 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,243,000 after buying an additional 83,661 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $180,834,000 after buying an additional 19,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,506,000 after buying an additional 66,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $136.56 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $138.78. 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 50 day simple moving average of $129.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.00. The company has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.71.

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.