Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 270 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 9,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $148.82 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $154.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $144.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.