Florida Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $10,319,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 5,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the director directly owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.67 on Thursday, hitting $155.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 488,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,288. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.33. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $121.81 and a 1 year high of $167.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $154.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.72. The company has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.70.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. Atmos Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid 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 2.24%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price objective on Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.