ProShare Advisors LLC Trims Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,349,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 97,451 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $187,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,788,000 after buying an additional 73,007 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,688,000 after buying an additional 2,036 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of ATO opened at $152.24 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $153.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.21. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $167.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho lowered shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.28.

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.