Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 26.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,809 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth $273,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 28.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 41.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.14.
Get Our Latest Report on Atmos Energy
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.
Atmos Energy Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $155.77 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $154.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $126.08 and a one year high of $167.45. The company has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.69.
Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 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 firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Atmos Energy Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.
Atmos Energy Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

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