Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $120.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.69. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

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.