Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Shares Acquired by Diversify Wealth Management LLC

Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,821 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,008 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.95.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $154.26. The stock had a trading volume of 436,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,340. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $119.90 and a 52-week high of $167.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50 day moving average price is $154.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.30.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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