Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $3.78 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,136,463,000 after buying an additional 5,543,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 541.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $212,403,000 after buying an additional 1,287,325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,002,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 172,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $153.77 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $113.46 and a 52-week high of $167.45. The stock has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.62.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

Atmos Energy 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.