Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Acquires New Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP bought a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Syntax Advisors LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC now owns 2,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.99 on Wednesday, reaching $118.66. The company had a trading volume of 688,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 827,680. The firm has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.86. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price 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. UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

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.