Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Bath Savings Trust Co

Bath Savings Trust Co reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 219 shares during the quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth 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. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after purchasing an additional 446,292 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $32,941,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 205,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 36.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,240,000 after buying an additional 196,163 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ATO. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.56.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $137.66 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $132.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.81. The company has a market capitalization of $20.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $105.44 and a 52 week high of $140.04. 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 (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

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.