Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 74,667 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. significantly reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation by 85.8%, selling 74,667 shares and leaving it with 12,381 shares valued at approximately $1.91 million.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded the stock, with one firm lowering their rating from "hold" to "sell," while Barclays adjusted its price target from $156.00 to $153.00.
• Atmos Energy Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.1%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 25th.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 85.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,381 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 74,667 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $273,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price target (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $165.18 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $128.12 and a one year high of $167.45. The company's fifty day moving average price is $156.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $26.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid 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%.

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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