Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth $32,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.0 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $114.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

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.