Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has a stake of $81.31 million in Atmos Energy Corporation, after a 1.1% reduction of its position in the first quarter, owning 525,988 shares of the company.
• Atmos Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, with a total annualized dividend of $3.48 and a 2.1% dividend yield.
• Wall Street analysts rate Atmos Energy with an average of "Moderate Buy," with target prices ranging from $159 to $163, indicating a generally positive outlook despite a recent earnings miss.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 525,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,760 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.33% of Atmos Energy worth $81,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $753,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:ATO traded down $2.92 on Monday, reaching $163.56. 502,967 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 966,663. 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 $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.75. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $159.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.83. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $130.88 and a 12 month high of $168.86.

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 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 business had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 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.