Swiss National Bank Has $53.81 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 464,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.31% of Atmos Energy worth $53,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $119.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.19 and its 200-day moving average is $114.32. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

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.