Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,887,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 12,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $114.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 256,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 907,870. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28. The company has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $116.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.59.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Atmos Energy 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.