Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $36.07 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 515.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 211,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 176,916 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $36,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth about $282,487,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 94.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778,653 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 220.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 720,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,107,000 after acquiring an additional 495,712 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Atmos Energy by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,899,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,699,000 after acquiring an additional 362,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 2,713.2% during the 1st quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 305,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,266,000 after acquiring an additional 294,900 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the sale, the director owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,098.55. The trade was a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ATO. Cowen began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.22.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $169.34 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $136.05 and a fifty-two week high of $180.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.07.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 53.40%.

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.