KBC Group NV Buys 49,169 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 17.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 328,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,169 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.21% of Atmos Energy worth $50,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.05.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $152.28. The company had a trading volume of 412,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,019,321. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.46 and a twelve month high of $167.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.70. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $155.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $149.64.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.