Yukon Wealth Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,500 Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Yukon Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $273,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $10,319,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Mizuho downgraded Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.05.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $152.47. The stock had a trading volume of 214,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,466. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.46 and a one year high of $167.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $155.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.64. The firm has a market cap of $24.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.70.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for 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%. The company's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Atmos Energy Company 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.