DE Burlo Group Inc. Reduces Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

DE Burlo Group Inc. reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. DE Burlo Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 379.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $58,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was 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 owned 172,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.95.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $156.98 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 one year low of $125.25 and a one year high of $167.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $154.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.70.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. 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.