Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,134 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Atmos Energy worth $11,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 124,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,230,000 after buying an additional 42,018 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 369,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,465,000 after acquiring an additional 12,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $145.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.46 and a 12 month high of $152.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.15.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 25.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 50.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ATO. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.