Eastern Bank Raises Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 23.8% during the first quarter, owning a total of 55,978 shares valued at $8,653,000.
• Atmos Energy reported $3.03 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and reflecting an 18.4% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.87, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.22%.

Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,746 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 6,549 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 78.4% during the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.3% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.8% in the first quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.8% in the first quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 20,573 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,181,000 after purchasing an additional 5,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company'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 value of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $155.77. The company had a trading volume of 829,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,599. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $126.08 and a twelve month high of $167.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price objective on Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Citigroup raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.14.

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.