Synovus Financial Corp Sells 7,675 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Synovus Financial Corp cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 35.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,675 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $442,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 18.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 100,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,954,000 after buying an additional 15,777 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 73,007 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.61.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

ATO stock opened at $140.58 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $143.31 and a 200-day moving average of $132.00. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.66%.

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.