Invesco Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.7%, now owning approximately 2,991,084 shares valued at $462.36 million.
• Atmos Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87, with a yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 47.80%.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Capital International Investors, have significantly increased their stakes in Atmos Energy, reflecting strong interest in the utility's stock.

Invesco Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,991,084 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 116,183 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.88% of Atmos Energy worth $462,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group reiterated 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. Wall Street Zen lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $165.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 247,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 975,394. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.33. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $128.12 and a 1 year high of $167.45. The company has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 3.08 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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS 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 given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio 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.