Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Clearstead Trust LLC

Clearstead Trust LLC cut its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,091 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $119.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 608,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,162. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $116.03 and a 200-day moving average of $114.22. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28. The stock has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66.

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). 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 last year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 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 issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their target price on shares of 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 lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

About Atmos Energy

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.