Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Holdings Lifted by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S significantly increased its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 631%, acquiring an additional 33,515 shares to total 38,826 shares valued at approximately $6,002,000.
• Atmos Energy's shares have received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a current target price of $158.27.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.48 and a yield of 2.1%.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 631.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,515 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 541.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $238,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,575 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,213,925,000 after acquiring an additional 424,235 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $65,333,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,817,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.4%

ATO stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $164.85. 165,241 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 964,554. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $128.12 and a 52-week high of $168.86. The business's 50 day moving average price is $157.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.62. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on ATO. Mizuho lowered 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 report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $158.27.

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.