NewEdge Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

NewEdge Advisors LLC cut its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.39.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $159.66 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.49. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $161.49. The firm has a market cap of $25.34 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.