Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 407 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,049,467,000 after acquiring an additional 538,578 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 5.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $952,356,000 after acquiring an additional 452,247 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 47.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,191,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,253,000 after acquiring an additional 382,167 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 511,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,196,000 after purchasing an additional 320,817 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,228,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ATO. Barclays lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $118.66 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $115.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.90. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

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.