SouthState Corp Has $224,000 Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

SouthState Corp increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ATO opened at $165.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $127.43 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $155.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 172,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Atmos Energy

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.