First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 711 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 71.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 711 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $40,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after acquiring an additional 19,981 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,506,000 after purchasing an additional 66,345 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,558,000 after purchasing an additional 9,253 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 730,759 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $85,240,000 after purchasing an additional 196,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 710,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $82,918,000 after purchasing an additional 113,109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.31.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ATO opened at $150.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.90. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.46 and a twelve month high of $151.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.87%.

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.