Amarillo National Bank Boosts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Amarillo National Bank grew its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. Atmos Energy accounts for about 0.7% of Amarillo National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Amarillo National Bank’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,049,467,000 after acquiring an additional 538,578 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,595,000 after buying an additional 50,209 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,008,000 after buying an additional 242,722 shares during the period. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 46.2% during the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the company’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 transaction of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $1.36 on Thursday, hitting $115.16. 403,055 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 970,242. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.59.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.67.

Atmos Energy 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.