Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 90,373 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Wells Fargo & Company MN decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,167,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 90,373 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.74% of Atmos Energy worth $162,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 4.9 %

ATO opened at $147.64 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.22 and a 200 day moving average of $143.88. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $157.62. The firm has a market cap of $23.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.