Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Sells 15,722 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 39.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,996 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,722 shares during the period. Atmos Energy makes up approximately 2.4% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth 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 approximately $51,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.05.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of ATO opened at $153.30 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $156.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.03. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.46 and a one year high of $167.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. This represents 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. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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