Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Decreases Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 18.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,732 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. owned 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $13,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after acquiring an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 541.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,403,000 after buying an additional 1,287,325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on Atmos Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.05.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $152.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.31 and its 200 day moving average is $148.90. The stock has a market cap of $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.71. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $113.46 and a 52-week high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

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.