AIA Group Ltd Has $513,000 Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

AIA Group Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 37.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,594 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $629,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $117.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.51. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28. The company has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results 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). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 51.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ATO. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

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

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.