Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stake Raised by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,078,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,391 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 1.94% of Atmos Energy worth $428,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 541.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,403,000 after buying an additional 1,287,325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 146.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,628,000 after buying an additional 1,017,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.28.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $161.27 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $153.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Atmos Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. 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.