1,188,581 Shares in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,188,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $137,757,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 107 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $113.93 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $117.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.10. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.17.

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.