Golden State Equity Partners Sells 319 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Golden State Equity Partners lessened its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 10.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 319 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SouthState Corp increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.9% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.3% in the first quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.27.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of ATO opened at $166.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.99. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $136.03 and a twelve month high of $168.86.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

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.