GoalVest Advisory LLC Cuts Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

GoalVest Advisory LLC cut its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 28.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,705 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Atmos Energy by 8.4% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Atmos Energy by 26.0% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 20.6% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 109,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,969,000 after acquiring an additional 18,753 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ATO. Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $176.00 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $136.05 and a 12 month high of $179.70.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.80%.

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.