American Century Companies Inc. Trims Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 15.9%, now owning approximately 1.46 million shares valued at $226 million.
• Atmos Energy has a market cap of $26.51 billion and reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.16 for the latest quarter, which missed analysts' estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87, with a current dividend yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 47.80%.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,464,818 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 276,380 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.92% of Atmos Energy worth $226,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded up $1.6970 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $165.7170. 657,231 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 977,401. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.89. The company has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $128.12 and a twelve month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.The company had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on ATO shares. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Mizuho downgraded Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.27.

About Atmos Energy

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.