Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stake Increased by Buckhead Capital Management LLC

Buckhead Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares during the quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,049,467,000 after purchasing an additional 538,578 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,356,000 after purchasing an additional 452,247 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,997,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,616,000 after acquiring an additional 24,962 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,482,000 after acquiring an additional 58,966 shares during the period. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,347,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,153,000 after acquiring an additional 74,654 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.76 on Wednesday, hitting $118.66. 498,525 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 816,001. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.11. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.