Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Sells 35,584 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC reduced its stake in Atmos Energy by 18.0%, selling 35,584 shares and now holding 161,884 shares, valued at approximately $25 million.
• Analysts' ratings for Atmos Energy vary, with Barclays lowering their price target to $153, while Citigroup raised theirs to $163, and the stock is generally viewed with a consensus price target of $158.27.
• Atmos Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.1%, with the payout ratio currently at 47.80%.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lessened its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 161,884 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 35,584 shares during the period. Atmos Energy comprises about 1.8% of Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned about 0.10% of Atmos Energy worth $25,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $230,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,187,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 160.9% in the first quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 19,624 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 12,103 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 543,697 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $84,045,000 after acquiring an additional 81,603 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on ATO shares. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded down $0.76 during trading on Thursday, reaching $165.49. The company had a trading volume of 650,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,861. The company has a fifty day moving average of $158.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.94. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $26.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $128.12 and a 12 month high of $168.86.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.The company had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders 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 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.