Seven Eight Capital LP Decreases Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Seven Eight Capital LP reduced its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 69.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,057 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% in 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. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Atmos Energy by 187.6% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $1.36 on Wednesday, hitting $125.90. 837,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 910,807. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $117.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.99. The company has a market cap of $19.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

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.