DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $7.26 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 369 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $7,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 191.2% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Atmos Energy by 141.2% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 11,200.0% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on ATO shares. Argus set a $172.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Cowen assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and set a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.44.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:ATO opened at $176.00 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $136.05 and a fifty-two week high of $179.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

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.