Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 3,015 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 30.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,776 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,015 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,136,463,000 after buying an additional 5,543,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 541.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $212,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $238,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $112,002,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.05.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO traded down $2.05 on Wednesday, hitting $151.60. The company had a trading volume of 808,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 922,200. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $155.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.64. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.46 and a 52 week high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

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 that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.