Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stock Holdings Increased by ORG Partners LLC

ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2,148.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,750 shares during the quarter. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 187.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 68.0% during the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following 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 available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.66. The stock had a trading volume of 725,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,619. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $132.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.83.

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.