WBI Investments LLC Makes New $2.83 Million Investment in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 20,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,828,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $157.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $25.03 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $154.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.54. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 172,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho lowered shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.15.

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.