Cambridge Trust Co. Has $5.30 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Cambridge Trust Co. reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 637 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $4,131,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 556,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,443,000 after acquiring an additional 36,977 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 77.8% in the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 91,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,882,000 after acquiring an additional 39,843 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 51.0% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 13,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at about $494,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ATO. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $114.34. 205,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 825,605. The company has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.50.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.11%.

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.