Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $445,000 Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,640 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,305,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 401,819 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,962,000 after purchasing an additional 29,701 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 12,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 41,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded down $0.40 on Thursday, reaching $160.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,219,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,673. The company has a market capitalization of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $152.15 and a 200-day moving average of $146.06. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $161.62.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.28.

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.