Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,831 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Glassman Wealth Services increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 177.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Atmos Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $122.14.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock traded down $1.56 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $111.36. 233,452 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,964. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.88. The firm has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $587.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.12 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 20.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 27th will be issued a $0.805 dividend. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 24th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 52.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard M. Thomas sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.20, for a total value of $199,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,650 shares in the company, valued at $302,630. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.99, for a total transaction of $1,387,375.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 199,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,194,892.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Richard M. Thomas sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.20, for a total value of $199,850.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,650 shares in the company, valued at $302,630. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.