Sienna Gestion Has $9.41 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion reduced its stakes in Atmos Energy Corporation by 5.0%, owning 62,599 shares worth approximately $9.4 million after selling 3,321 shares during the first quarter.
• The company's quarterly earnings results showed $1.16 EPS, missing the forecast of $1.17 EPS, with revenue totaling $838.77 million compared to the expected $848.97 million.
• Atmos Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.48 and a yield of 2.1%, with the payout ratio being 47.80%.

Sienna Gestion decreased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,599 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,321 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $9,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors increased its position in Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,136,463,000 after buying an additional 5,543,451 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Atmos Energy by 541.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $212,403,000 after buying an additional 1,287,325 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $238,628,000 after buying an additional 1,017,575 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,213,925,000 after buying an additional 424,235 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $65,333,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $164.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 869,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 979,454. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $128.12 and a 52 week high of $167.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $156.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.66. The stock has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its 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). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.