Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $9,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,213,925,000 after buying an additional 424,235 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 24.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,317,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $203,659,000 after acquiring an additional 257,341 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in Atmos Energy by 9.3% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,011,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $155,868,000 after acquiring an additional 86,472 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 950,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $146,940,000 after purchasing an additional 34,878 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 895,475 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,422,000 after purchasing an additional 91,266 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $178.01 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $171.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.66. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $136.05 and a 52-week high of $180.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $754.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $726.97 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ATO shares. Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.44.

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.