Financial Partners Group LLC Decreases Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Financial Partners Group LLC cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 588 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth about $1,570,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 3,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 3,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 52,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,285,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.4% during the third quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 73,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $142.65 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $105.44 and a fifty-two week high of $144.32. The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.91. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 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, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.94.

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.