Raiffeisen Bank International AG Buys Shares of 5,187 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 21,028 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,929,000 after acquiring an additional 5,611 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $319,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 5,117 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 104.9% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 7,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 3,668 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 6,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:ATO traded down $1.02 on Tuesday, reaching $158.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,075,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,211. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $167.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $154.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.77. The firm has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. Atmos Energy's revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho lowered shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.