Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Invests $47,000 in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,633,000 after purchasing an additional 61,708 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 46,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 189,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,040,000 after purchasing an additional 39,970 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of ATO stock traded up $2.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $117.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,108,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,965. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $115.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly 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). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ATO. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

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.