Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.9%, now owning 80,441 shares valued at approximately $12.4 million.
• Multiple institutional investors like Capital International and Bank of America Corp DE significantly boosted their positions in Atmos Energy, with Capital International's stake increasing by 211.8% to over $1.1 billion.
• Atmos Energy reported a net margin of 25.35% and earnings per share of $3.03 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.11, indicating strong financial performance.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,441 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,504 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of Atmos Energy worth $12,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $752,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 55.0% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,463 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 83,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,083 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at about $4,012,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 48.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,896 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,312,000 after buying an additional 9,097 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ATO. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $157.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $155.77. 829,913 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 602,884. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $126.08 and a 1-year high of $167.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $154.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.11. The firm has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.70.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

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.