Bank of Nova Scotia Has $1.58 Million Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,009 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.0% during the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 13,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.6% during the third quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $117.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.71.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $116.56 on Monday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $97.71 and a 52-week high of $121.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.38. The company has a market capitalization of $16.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.62.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.01. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.01 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 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 19th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.50, for a total transaction of $45,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,620. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.50, for a total transaction of $45,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,620. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total transaction of $1,431,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 217,668 shares in the company, valued at $24,931,692.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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Atmos Energy Corp. engages in the provision of natural gas services. It operates under the Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage business segments. The Distribution segment is involved in regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations. The Pipeline and Storage segment includes pipeline and storage operations of Atmos Pipeline-Texas division and natural gas transmission operations.