Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by OLD National Bancorp IN

OLD National Bancorp IN reduced its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 741 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 187.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 68.0% during the 4th quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $128.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 674,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,837. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.10. 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 $132.24.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.83.

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.