Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Buys 20,514 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 62.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 20,514 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $7,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other 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 sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $156.39. The stock had a trading volume of 168,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,050. The company's fifty day moving average is $155.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.29. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $167.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ATO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.35.

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.