Compass Wealth Management LLC Sells 300 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Compass Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 36.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $62,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after buying an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,049,467,000 after purchasing an additional 538,578 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 281.3% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 562,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,208,000 after buying an additional 415,054 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 47.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,191,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,253,000 after acquiring an additional 382,167 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $117.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.45. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. UBS Group began 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 for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.17.

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.