Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,595 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $13,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,788,000 after purchasing an additional 73,007 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 71.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,813 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,086,000 after purchasing an additional 12,388 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business'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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE ATO opened at $159.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $154.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The company has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ATO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.15.

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.

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