Independence Bank of Kentucky Sells 2,795 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,795 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 541.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $212,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,325 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $238,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,575 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Six research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.23. The company had a trading volume of 624,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,271. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $113.46 and a 12-month high of $167.45. The stock has a market cap of $24.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50-day moving average is $155.72 and its 200 day moving average is $148.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. Atmos Energy's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.