PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 1,518 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.17.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE ATO opened at $116.97 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $116.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.