New Hampshire Trust Sells 110 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

New Hampshire Trust lowered its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 17.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the second quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 1,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $145.55 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.46 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $142.79 and a 200-day moving average of $136.36.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 50.66%.

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.