Ascent Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,507 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,778 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 73,007 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 3,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $154.12. 718,575 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 933,159. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $155.45 and a 200 day moving average of $148.39. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Mizuho downgraded Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.35.

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.