Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 15.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,364 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after buying an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 5.6% in the 1st 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 boosted its position 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 period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the 2nd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $136.56 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $129.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.09. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $138.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three 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.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.71.

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.