AIA Group Ltd Lowers Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

AIA Group Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,666 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 228,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,728,000 after buying an additional 14,377 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 136,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,343 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 41,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 17.4% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,609 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $144.19 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.40 and a 1 year high of $145.27. The company has a market cap of $22.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $138.29 and its 200 day moving average is $126.87.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 25.09%. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 yield of 2.41%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 46.87%.

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.