Community Financial Services Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Community Financial Services Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 114 shares during the quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth $273,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 28.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 20.6% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 109,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,969,000 after purchasing an additional 18,753 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Argus set a $172.00 target price on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock opened at $169.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $163.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.75. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $136.05 and a 1-year high of $171.20.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

About Atmos Energy

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.