Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Lowers Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,551,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 189,309 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 5.39% of Atmos Energy worth $1,190,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,249,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 12,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 41,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,721,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $13,583,000. Finally, Norinchukin Bank The increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 7,123 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho downgraded Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $159.07. 123,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 927,082. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $161.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $151.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.87.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

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.