Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 10.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 808,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 93,220 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $125,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 424,235 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 17.2% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,454,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,773,000 after acquiring an additional 213,075 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $146,940,000 after acquiring an additional 34,878 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 895,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,422,000 after acquiring an additional 91,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 886,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,719,000 after acquiring an additional 67,860 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:ATO opened at $166.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.80 and a 200-day moving average of $156.15. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $133.86 and a 52 week high of $168.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.27.

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.