Fruth Investment Management Has $1.34 Million Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Fruth Investment Management cut its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 10.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,090 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $1,876,000. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 565.3% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after acquiring an additional 34,515 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $32,941,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $3,010,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.56.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $140.28 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $105.44 and a 52-week high of $140.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.42.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

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.