Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $24.87 Million Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,340 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.10% of Atmos Energy worth $24,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $273,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 4.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $10,319,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.05.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 172,632 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ATO traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $152.28. 412,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 922,239. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.46 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The company has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.72.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. 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.