Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Grows Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,433 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.09% of Atmos Energy worth $25,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ATO. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 7,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 206.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,597,000 after buying an additional 18,148 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at $961,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,130,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 267.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ATO. UBS Group boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.33.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $180.29 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $141.59 and a 1 year high of $181.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $169.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.87. The company has a market capitalization of $29.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.95%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.