Wells Fargo & Company MN cut its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,191,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,757 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.79% of Atmos Energy worth $138,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Atmos Energy Trading Down 2.8 %
Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $3.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $113.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,351,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,896. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $117.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.10. The company has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.66.
Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.
Insider Activity at Atmos Energy
In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.17.
View Our Latest Stock Report on ATO
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.
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