USA Financial Formulas Sells 3,022 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

USA Financial Formulas trimmed its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 36.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,022 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas' holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on ATO. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of ATO traded down $1.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $152.76. 646,228 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,490. The company has a market cap 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $113.46 and a 52 week high of $167.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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.