Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 362 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,729,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $14,863,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 135,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,693,000 after purchasing an additional 16,024 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.24 on Tuesday, reaching $127.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,054,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 914,087. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $132.24. The company has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. 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 fifty day moving average price of $119.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.85.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. Atmos Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.