Everpar Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Everpar Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $120.59. The stock had a trading volume of 980,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 807,761. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.44. The stock has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.66 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.