Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 114.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,863 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.35.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $1.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $152.76. 646,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,490. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $113.46 and a 12-month high of $167.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.71.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.