USS Investment Management Ltd Reduces Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,041 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,898 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $156.90. The company had a trading volume of 400,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,779. 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 $167.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $155.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.29. The firm has a market cap of $24.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.35.

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.