Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 14.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 334,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 58,254 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.21% of Atmos Energy worth $51,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $273,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $176.45 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $136.05 and a twelve month high of $177.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $166.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.00. The firm has a market cap of $28.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ATO. Argus set a $172.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.70.

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.