Czech National Bank Buys 2,211 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,887,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its position in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 12,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased 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 valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 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 Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

ATO stock traded up $0.63 on Monday, hitting $128.68. 109,561 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 910,601. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business’s fifty day moving average is $120.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.13. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $132.24.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.83.

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.