Scissortail Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 1,780 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Scissortail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 80.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $112.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 973,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,676. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $114.92 and a 200 day moving average of $113.45. The company has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ATO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, 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 objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

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.