Clearstead Trust LLC Has $551,000 Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Clearstead Trust LLC decreased its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,091 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Syntax Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC now owns 2,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 9.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $119.32. The company had a trading volume of 608,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,162. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $116.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.22. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

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.