Portfolio Design Labs LLC Sells 443 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC lowered its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 443 shares during the quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,077,000 after acquiring an additional 5,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $145.12 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.63. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ATO. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

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.