10,292 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Purchased by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,193,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, hitting $119.32. 608,234 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 688,162. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.22.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.