Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 114 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Hancock Whitney Corp decreased its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ATO. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.9% during the first quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 12,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $136.56 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.05. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $138.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ATO. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed 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 for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.71.

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.