Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation by 17.6% in Q1, owning 345,977 shares, valued at approximately $53.5 million.
• Atmos Energy's stock has seen mixed ratings from analysts, with one downgrade to "sell" and varied price target adjustments, with a consensus rating of "Hold" based on multiple recent reports.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87, to be paid on September 8th, which represents a 2.1% yield and a payout ratio of 47.80%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 345,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 51,854 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned 0.22% of Atmos Energy worth $53,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 379.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho downgraded Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $165.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,006,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,864. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $127.43 and a one year high of $167.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $155.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.99.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%. The company had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Atmos Energy 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.