Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Trims Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its stake in Atmos Energy Corporation by 10.0%, owning 89,098 shares valued at approximately $13.77 million after selling 9,943 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Directors, including Kim R. Cocklin, have also engaged in insider selling, with Cocklin selling 15,000 shares at an average price of $150.98.
• Analysts have various ratings for Atmos Energy, including a recent upgrade to a "strong-buy" rating from Argus and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $156.95.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ reduced its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,943 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.06% of Atmos Energy worth $13,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 83,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,966,000 after acquiring an additional 9,083 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $4,012,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 48.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,896 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 9,097 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 57,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 152,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded up $0.79 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $156.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 94,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,173. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $126.08 and a twelve month high of $167.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $154.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $146.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $157.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.