Short Interest in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Increases By 6.9%

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 29th, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, a growth of 6.9% from the February 14th total of 3,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 839,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 31.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,992,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,093,298,000 after acquiring an additional 4,343,701 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,162,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,815,000 after purchasing an additional 547,260 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,756,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $329,399,000 after purchasing an additional 533,372 shares during the period. 90.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

ATO traded up $0.86 during trading on Monday, hitting $115.41. 861,445 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,404. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $114.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.93. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.40.

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.