Rhumbline Advisers Buys 16,140 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 340,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,140 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.21% of Atmos Energy worth $52,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Trust Point Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geller Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $639,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $152.22. 867,177 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 936,434. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $113.46 and a 52 week high of $167.45. The firm's 50 day moving average is $155.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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 upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Six research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.