Bayesian Capital Management LP Lowers Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Bayesian Capital Management LP decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 32.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,700 shares during the quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Kinloch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 30,406 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $242,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 22.5% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 16,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,932,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.7% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 438,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,140,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 46.8% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 95,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,315,000 after purchasing an additional 30,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $127.99. 310,116 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 901,786. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.62 and a 200-day moving average of $116.23. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $128.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Atmos Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.67.

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.