ORG Partners LLC Acquires 2,750 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2,148.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 187.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 67.9% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy 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 transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.83.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded down $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $128.66. 725,456 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 909,619. The stock has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $132.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $120.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

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.