Rational Advisors LLC Invests $547,000 in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $547,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $4,131,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 7.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 556,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,443,000 after buying an additional 36,977 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 91,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,882,000 after acquiring an additional 39,843 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 51.0% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 13,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $494,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $1,468,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 212,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,952,711.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $114.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.85. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $662.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $959.54 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 19.02% and a return on equity of 8.38%. Atmos Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 50.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $122.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $126.00 to $122.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut Atmos Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.00.

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.