Cypress Capital Group Decreases Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cypress Capital Group lowered its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,075 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after purchasing an additional 19,981 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the 2nd 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 period. Sfmg LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd 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 period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 710,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $82,918,000 after acquiring an additional 113,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.94.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock opened at $150.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.42. The company has a market capitalization of $23.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.46 and a 1-year high of $150.38.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio 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.