Independence Bank of Kentucky Has $936,000 Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 38.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,002 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $936,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th 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. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ATO traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $116.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,452,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,002,539. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 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. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.76 and its 200-day moving average is $115.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ATO. Mizuho upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.