Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $5.01 Million Stock Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,625 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,561 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,487,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $386,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,616,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $696,000. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,365,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.05.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $152.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,551,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 922,130. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.44. 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 one year low of $113.46 and a one year high of $167.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.71.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. 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.