Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,102 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $11,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $233,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $10,319,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 51,495 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,172,000 after buying an additional 1,215 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,922,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 513.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 32,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,588,000 after acquiring an additional 27,577 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $154.26. The company had a trading volume of 436,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,735. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $119.90 and a 1-year high of $167.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $154.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.37.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.