D.A. Davidson & CO. Raises Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $152.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.06. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.46 and a twelve month high of $167.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 172,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ATO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho lowered 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 report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.05.

About Atmos Energy

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.