Royal Bank of Canada Has $74.06 Million Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 531,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 23,378 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.34% of Atmos Energy worth $74,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Geller Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded up $1.98 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $157.27. The stock had a trading volume of 984,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,716. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $167.45. The company has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $155.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.20. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm 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 business's revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock 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 report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. 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 note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Company 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.