Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 82.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,108 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 80.5% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $32,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on ATO shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $124.40.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $116.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 525,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,018. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.19. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28. The company has a market capitalization of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is 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.