Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 2.9%, selling 21,157 shares to hold a total of 720,974 shares, valued at approximately $111.4 million.
• The utility company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, slightly missing analyst expectations, and had a revenue of $838.77 million compared to forecasted $848.97 million.
• Atmos Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.1%, set to be paid on September 8th to shareholders of record by August 25th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 720,974 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 21,157 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.45% of Atmos Energy worth $111,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,287,325 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,017,575 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 424,235 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $65,333,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $47,817,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $166.49. The company had a trading volume of 362,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 972,175. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.70. 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 company has a market capitalization of $26.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 3.06 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. 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 price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 research note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.27.

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.