Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 88,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,341 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $10,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 21.7% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.6% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 22.6% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 1,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.2% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 180,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,119,000 after buying an additional 13,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.66. The company had a trading volume of 686,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,540. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.86. The firm has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.