Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Makes New Investment in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 3,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 19,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 40,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,849,000 after purchasing an additional 6,550 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $3,010,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.4% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ATO. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $114.77. 941,428 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 916,848. The company has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.36 and its 200 day moving average is $115.61. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio 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.