Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 2,417 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,417 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after buying an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $432,749,000 after acquiring an additional 223,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $428,732,000 after acquiring an additional 58,391 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $152.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.33. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $113.46 and a 52-week high of $167.45. The firm has a market cap of $24.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.31 and its 200-day moving average is $148.90.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price objective on Atmos Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.05.

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.