Wellington Management Group LLP Lowers Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,130,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 614,635 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 8.27% of Atmos Energy worth $1,828,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 9,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its position in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,524 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $152.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.30. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

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.