Bfsg LLC Acquires 121 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.3% during the first quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Geller Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered 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. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE ATO opened at $151.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $113.46 and a 1-year high of $167.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $156.11 and a 200-day moving average of $148.83. The firm has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.71.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

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.