Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. 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 during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% in 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. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $117.20 on Monday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $115.10 and a 200 day moving average of $113.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 51.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

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.