Paradiem LLC Acquires Shares of 86,407 Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Paradiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 86,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,754,000. Atmos Energy makes up 3.4% of Paradiem LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11,200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays set a $175.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Argus set a $172.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the sale, the director owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,098.55. The trade was a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $168.15 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $136.16 and a twelve month high of $180.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 25.49%.The firm had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.