Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Acquired by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 152,074 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 63,433 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $25,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 105.4% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 30.4% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $180.29 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $141.59 and a 52-week high of $181.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $29.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $169.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.87.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ATO. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Zacks Research raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.33.

Atmos Energy Profile

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.