Obermeyer Wealth Partners Acquires New Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Obermeyer Wealth Partners bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,193,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 66.3% during the 1st quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Atmos Energy by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 19,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 6,166 shares during the period. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.7% in the first quarter. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. now owns 12,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,967,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 143.4% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 59,972 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,271,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director owned 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.95.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $158.28 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $122.70 and a twelve month high of $167.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.15.

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. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

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.

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