CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Trims Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,311 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 21,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,155,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 12,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $167,808,000 after buying an additional 446,292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $116.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.49. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the company’s 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 $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.