Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 347,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,969 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $59,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $172.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen upgraded Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.22.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $169.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.77. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $138.77 and a 1 year high of $180.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.40%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.