Wealthspire Advisors LLC Sells 259 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC reduced its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,633,000 after purchasing an additional 61,708 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 138,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,012,000 after purchasing an additional 59,979 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 29.6% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 26.8% in the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 189,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,040,000 after purchasing an additional 39,970 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy 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 value of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $119.59. 1,878,011 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 817,412. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $116.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.44. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Atmos Energy 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.