404 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $119.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.96 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

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.