M&G Plc Has $30.46 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

M&G Plc lessened its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 260,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,508 shares during the period. M&G Plc owned about 0.17% of Atmos Energy worth $30,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 187.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, reaching $128.80. 460,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 910,807. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $132.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.83.

Atmos Energy 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.