Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 438,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Atmos Energy worth $61,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ATO. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $150.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $154.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $145.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.92.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

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.