Cypress Capital Group Has $477,000 Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,747 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE ATO opened at $148.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $143.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.01. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $154.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.53 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

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.