First National Advisers LLC Has $3.18 Million Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation by 33.8% in the first quarter, owning 20,573 shares valued at approximately $3.18 million.
• Wall Street analysts have upgraded Atmos Energy's ratings, with a new price target range between $156.00 and $166.00 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Atmos Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.48 and a yield of 2.22%.

First National Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,573 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,194 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $273,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 28.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 172,632 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ATO traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $155.87. The stock had a trading volume of 295,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,416. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $126.08 and a fifty-two week high of $167.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.88. The firm has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

About Atmos Energy

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.