Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stake Trimmed by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC cut its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,049,467,000 after purchasing an additional 538,578 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,356,000 after buying an additional 452,247 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 47.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,191,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,253,000 after acquiring an additional 382,167 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 168.1% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 511,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,196,000 after purchasing an additional 320,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8,170.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 237,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,530,000 after purchasing an additional 234,657 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ATO opened at $119.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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