Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $10.22 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,341 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $10,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $118.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 686,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,540. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $115.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28. The stock has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.