LPL Financial LLC Increases Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 12.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,612 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ahrens Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE ATO opened at $107.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $111.43 and a 200 day moving average of $115.18. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $662.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.54 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 19.02% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The firm’s revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $24,952,711.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $124.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.63.

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.