Trustmark National Bank Trust Department Reduces Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lessened its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 46,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,427,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 40,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,680,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 319.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 37,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,313,000 after buying an additional 28,337 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.00. 251,906 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 908,632. The company has a market capitalization of $18.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 2.59 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. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.95.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company raised Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.67.

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.