Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Has $327,000 Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 141.2% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Argus set a $172.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.7%

ATO opened at $170.07 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.11. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $136.05 and a 1-year high of $171.20. The stock has a market cap of $27.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.80%.

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.