Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation by 19.5%, owning a total of 20,907 shares valued at approximately $3.22 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including the Czech National Bank and Parallel Advisors LLC, also boosted their stakes in Atmos Energy in the second quarter, reflecting increasing interest in the utilities sector.
• Atmos Energy reported a missing earnings estimate of $1.16 per share for the latest quarter, with a revenue of $838.77 million, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $848.97 million.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 19.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,414 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,213,925,000 after purchasing an additional 424,235 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,333,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,713.2% during the first quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 305,769 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,266,000 after acquiring an additional 294,900 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 21,802.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 282,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $43,608,000 after acquiring an additional 280,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,317,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $203,659,000 after acquiring an additional 257,341 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.27.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.6%

ATO stock traded up $2.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $165.61. 201,360 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 960,527. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.58 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.75. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.03 and a 1 year high of $168.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $162.26 and a 200-day moving average of $156.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is currently 47.80%.

Atmos Energy 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.