Northern Trust Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation by 0.8%, owning approximately 1.02% of the company with 1,626,775 shares after selling 12,298 shares in the first quarter.
• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.1%, now holding over 20 million shares worth approximately $3.21 billion, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Atmos Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.1%, reflecting a steady return for investors.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,626,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,298 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.02% of Atmos Energy worth $251,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the first 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 last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $428,732,000 after buying an additional 58,391 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 146.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,017,575 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Atmos Energy by 541.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $212,403,000 after buying an additional 1,287,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,454,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,773,000 after acquiring an additional 213,075 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $163.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ATO stock opened at $165.9820 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $128.12 and a 1 year high of $167.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $156.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.98.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 47.80%.

About Atmos Energy

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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