Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Shares Acquired by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,211 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,153 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of Atmos Energy worth $21,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 541.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $212,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287,325 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 146.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $238,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,002,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.05.

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 sale, the director now owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $152.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $156.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.21. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $113.46 and a 12-month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The company's revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.