Argent Trust Co Sells 190 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Argent Trust Co cut its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% in 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 last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on 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 report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $136.56 on Friday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $138.78. The company has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $129.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

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.