Ascent Group LLC Buys 2,990 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 22.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,990 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,314,641,000 after acquiring an additional 127,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,243,000 after purchasing an additional 83,661 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,595,000 after purchasing an additional 50,209 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,008,000 after purchasing an additional 242,722 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $127.06. 620,366 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 905,895. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $117.45 and its 200-day moving average is $116.15. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $127.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.