Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Acquired by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,941 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $206,538,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,360,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $152.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $147.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.30. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

About Atmos Energy

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.