Financial Partners Group LLC Sells 588 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Financial Partners Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 588 shares during the period. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.7% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 467.0% during the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 6.0% during the first quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 27,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 99.1% in the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 16,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 8,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Little House Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the first quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $142.65 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.91. The firm has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $105.44 and a 1 year high of $144.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.94.

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.