Cooke & Bieler LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Cooke & Bieler LP lowered its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 924,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 212,103 shares during the period. Atmos Energy comprises about 1.4% of Cooke & Bieler LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 0.58% of Atmos Energy worth $142,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 2,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE ATO traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $156.58. 751,404 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 911,647. The firm has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a PEG ratio of 2.97 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 $121.81 and a 52-week high of $167.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.72.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS 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 $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.95.

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.