Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 462,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 118,859 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $64,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $149.55 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.96. The company has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.