Icon Advisers Inc. Co. Cuts Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Icon Advisers Inc. Co. cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,836,526,000 after buying an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,760,000 after purchasing an additional 107,700 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $432,749,000 after buying an additional 223,809 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $206,538,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $147,516,000 after purchasing an additional 7,501 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $151.53 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $149.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $157.62.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ATO. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.94.

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.