Marshall Financial Group LLC Sells 101 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Marshall Financial Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 176,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $24,477,000 after purchasing an additional 35,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 48,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,689,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:ATO opened at $152.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $113.46 and a one year high of $167.45. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.86. The company has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.71.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.35.

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.