Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,669 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Atmos Energy worth $8,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 170.0% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,610 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 38,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,497,000 after acquiring an additional 2,196 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 236,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,382,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $403,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

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

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

ATO opened at $119.45 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $116.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.