Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Decreases Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $149.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $23.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.