9,638 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Purchased by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,646,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 7,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 206.8% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 18,148 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $961,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.8% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,130,000 after buying an additional 4,636 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $166.44 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $168.78 and its 200 day moving average is $168.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $140.69 and a 1 year high of $180.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 25.49%. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.