Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Free Report) by 52.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 112,233 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of Atmos Energy worth $11,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2,500.0% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 92.82% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $127.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.57.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ATO
Insider Activity at Atmos Energy
In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $1,468,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 212,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,952,711.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Atmos Energy Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $116.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.97. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $97.71 and a one year high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.86.
Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $662.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.54 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 19.02% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.
Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 18th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 50.68%.
Atmos Energy Profile
(Free Report)
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.
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