Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Invests $59,000 in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 541.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,325 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 146.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,575 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,213,925,000 after purchasing an additional 424,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,817,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ATO shares. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE ATO opened at $165.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.99. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $127.43 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The company has a market capitalization of $26.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued 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 is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 insiders.

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.