Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stock Position Lifted by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 6.65% of Atmos Energy worth $1,162,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position 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 valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Syntax Advisors LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Bfsg LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $653,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.17.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.02 on Friday, reaching $116.15. The stock had a trading volume of 818,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,114,067. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $116.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28. The stock has a market cap of $17.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.67.

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 net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Atmos Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.