Chilton Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Chilton Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,213,925,000 after purchasing an additional 424,235 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 24.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,317,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $203,659,000 after purchasing an additional 257,341 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $146,940,000 after buying an additional 34,878 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 895,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,422,000 after buying an additional 91,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 886,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $137,719,000 after buying an additional 67,860 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus set a $172.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $176.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $136.05 and a 52-week high of $179.70. The firm has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $169.10 and its 200 day moving average is $160.82.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The company had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

Atmos Energy Company 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.