NBC Securities Inc. Grows Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 104,250.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,020 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after buying an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $432,749,000 after acquiring an additional 223,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $428,732,000 after acquiring an additional 58,391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ATO stock opened at $154.83 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average is $155.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.54. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $113.46 and a twelve month high of $167.45.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ATO. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.35.

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.