Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 928,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,461 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.59% of Atmos Energy worth $143,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $273,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $154.26. The company had a trading volume of 436,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,735. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.37. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $119.90 and a 12-month high of $167.45. The company has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.70.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.95.

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.