Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $367,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,207,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE ATO opened at $149.87 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $141.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.86. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

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.