Shell Asset Management Co. Boosts Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 11.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 159,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,651,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $71,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.9% during the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 498.1% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 27,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,253,000 after acquiring an additional 22,982 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $15,825,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $175.83 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $136.05 and a twelve month high of $176.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $165.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 47.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Argus set a $172.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.50.

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.