Wellington Management Group LLP Has $1.90 Billion Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation by 6.2%, now owning 12,321,994 shares worth approximately $1.90 billion.
• Atmos Energy recently reported earnings of $1.16 per share, which fell short of analysts' estimates by one cent, and had a revenue of $838.77 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, set to be paid on September 8th, representing an annualized yield of 2.1%.

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,321,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 808,723 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 7.76% of Atmos Energy worth $1,904,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 128,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,911,000 after acquiring an additional 15,037 shares in the last quarter. Qtron Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 7,884 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 141.2% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Partners Group Holding AG raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 366,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,660,000 after buying an additional 89,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 895,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,422,000 after buying an additional 91,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1%

ATO traded up $0.1720 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.9820. The stock had a trading volume of 766,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,934. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $156.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.98. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $128.12 and a 52 week high of $167.85.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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