JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 32.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 580,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 280,989 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $80,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 17.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 1,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $138.29 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.46 and a 1-year high of $152.65. The stock has a market cap of $21.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 50.66%.

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.