Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Reduces Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 7.8%, selling 666,319 shares, bringing its total ownership to 7,884,931 shares valued at approximately $1.22 billion.
• Atmos Energy reported a miss on earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, with actual EPS at $1.16 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17, alongside a revenue of $838.77 million against an expectation of $848.97 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.1%, with a payout ratio of 47.80%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,884,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 666,319 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 4.96% of Atmos Energy worth $1,218,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 31.5% during the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 29,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,544,000 after buying an additional 7,035 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.8% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 409,037 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,229,000 after buying an additional 7,218 shares in the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth $1,627,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.8% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 3,414 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 631.0% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 38,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,002,000 after buying an additional 33,515 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.6%

ATO stock traded down $2.65 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $165.56. 638,047 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,583. The stock has a market cap of $26.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $128.12 and a fifty-two week high of $168.86. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $157.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.46.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

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.