7,057 Shares in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Bought by NovaPoint Capital LLC

NovaPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 111.6% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 7,715 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 15.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 1,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 5,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $172.00 price target (down from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays set a $175.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.22.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $168.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $172.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.77. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $136.16 and a one year high of $180.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 25.49%.The business had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.40%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.