Boston Trust Walden Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 6.5%, now owning 318,407 shares worth approximately $49 million after selling 22,243 shares in Q2.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their positions in Atmos Energy, with SG Americas Securities LLC raising its ownership by 248.7% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Atmos Energy, ranging from $159 to $172, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $164.70.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 22,243 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.20% of Atmos Energy worth $49,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 41.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 248.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,260,000 after buying an additional 5,813 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 25.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,874 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 30.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,975,000 after buying an additional 3,015 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Argus set a $172.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.70.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $177.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $136.05 and a 1-year high of $177.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $167.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.29.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation 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, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.80%.

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.

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