Hennessy Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,100 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.10% of Atmos Energy worth $24,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Six 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.1%

ATO stock traded down $1.73 on Friday, hitting $152.76. 646,228 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,059. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $113.46 and a 12-month high of $167.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.71.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. 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.

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.