Eastern Bank Has $8.52 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Eastern Bank trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $8,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $273,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,348,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,616,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $176.45 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $136.05 and a 12 month high of $177.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.88. The company has a market cap of $28.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus set a $172.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays set a $175.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.70.

Atmos Energy 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.