Norges Bank Takes $206.54 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,483,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,538,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,360,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $152.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $154.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.10 and a 200-day moving average of $143.30.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.15.

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.