Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $3.29 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Moran Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 87.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,252 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 145,024 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $298,000. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 30,960 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 294.3% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 46,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,409,000 after purchasing an additional 34,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $280,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were 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. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $152.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,551,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,252. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $156.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.37. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.46 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The firm has a market cap of $24.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.05.

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.