Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Increases Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,008 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.15% of Atmos Energy worth $26,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 603,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,920,000 after acquiring an additional 26,509 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,757,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,267,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 377,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,732,000 after buying an additional 42,182 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 32,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,772,000 after buying an additional 4,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $136.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $138.78. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.71.

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.