Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $9.99 Million Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,019 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $9,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ATO opened at $152.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55. The company has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 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%. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.