Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Shares Purchased by NovaPoint Capital LLC

NovaPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. NovaPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 10,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares during the last quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $541,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 17,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 4,488 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 31,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,864,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.05.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $153.77 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $113.46 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

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.