Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Short Interest Up 6.7% in July

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,590,000 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the June 30th total of 4,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 999,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO traded up $2.20 on Thursday, hitting $130.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 745,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,608. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $130.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $116.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ATO. Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.67.

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.