Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Director Sells $1,746,900.00 in Stock

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $118.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 636,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 851,543. The stock has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $114.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $113.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 51.11%.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ATO. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 482.4% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 11,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 9,850 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $349,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,267,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,751,000. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.40.

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.