1,594 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Acquired by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV grew its position in Atmos Energy by 4.3% during the first quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,705,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 2,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.5%

ATO traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $156.98. 533,687 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 645,805. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $125.25 and a 52 week high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. Atmos Energy's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.