Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 28.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 172,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO opened at $152.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $113.46 and a 52-week high of $167.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $155.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.72. The company has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.70.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.05.

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.