Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 18.0% in the first quarter, now holding 14,283 shares valued at approximately $2.2 million.
• Atmos Energy reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate by $0.01, with revenues of $838.77 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, representing a 2.1% yield, to be paid on September 8th.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,142 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 141.2% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $58,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced 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. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $163.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4%

ATO stock traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $165.50. 217,370 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 965,725. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $130.66 and a twelve month high of $168.86. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $159.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.