Sei Investments Co. Has $83.63 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sei Investments Co. lessened its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 600,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 83,866 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.38% of Atmos Energy worth $83,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted 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 period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted 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 period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted 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 period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,077,000 after acquiring an additional 5,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $148.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $154.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $146.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.63.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

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.