Partners Group Holding AG Has $49.80 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Partners Group Holding AG lessened its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 323,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 43,397 shares during the period. Atmos Energy accounts for approximately 2.3% of Partners Group Holding AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Partners Group Holding AG’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $49,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 191.2% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,464.7% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 22,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 21,267 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on ATO shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Argus set a $172.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays set a $175.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $172.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.71. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.05 and a 1 year high of $179.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

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.