Gen Wealth Partners Inc Sells 189 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Gen Wealth Partners Inc trimmed its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,760,000 after purchasing an additional 107,700 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $432,749,000 after purchasing an additional 223,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $428,732,000 after purchasing an additional 58,391 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $159.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $153.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.97.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 EPS. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.28.

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.