Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $139,000 Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO opened at $154.93 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.56. The company has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $155.27.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

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.