Tectonic Advisors LLC Sells 335 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Tectonic Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 335 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $76,360,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,446,000 after acquiring an additional 278,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ATO opened at $145.01 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.15. The company has a market cap of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.46 and a twelve month high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 8.83%. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 50.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

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.