Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Invests $347,000 in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,491 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,604,000 after buying an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $10,319,000. Finally, Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 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 represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ATO. Wolfe Research began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ATO stock traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $157.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 984,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,165. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $155.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.09. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week 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 market cap of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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