Truist Financial Corp Raises Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,196 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $4,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,633,000 after acquiring an additional 61,708 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 138,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,012,000 after buying an additional 59,979 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 29.6% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 46,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $119.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.25. The firm has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

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.