Swiss National Bank Lowers Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 438,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Atmos Energy worth $61,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.75.

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Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ATO traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, reaching $150.81. The stock had a trading volume of 702,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,071. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.31. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 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.