Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Stake Decreased by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 7.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,625 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $273,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,319,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $298,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 248.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 5,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $156.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.71. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $113.46 and a 1 year high of $167.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.18. 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 (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho downgraded Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.05.

Atmos Energy 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.