Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 11,640 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 389,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,640 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $61,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $775,719,000 after purchasing an additional 416,933 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $431,677,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,823,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $314,171,000 after purchasing an additional 520,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $276,558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $173.72 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.16. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $154.72 and a 12-month high of $192.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $29.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. The firm had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William Ware acquired 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Argus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Atmos Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $198.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.27.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is a regulated natural gas utility that distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. The company also operates natural gas pipeline and storage assets, supporting the transportation and management of gas within its service areas.

Atmos Energy serves more than 3 million distribution customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Kansas and Colorado. Its distribution operations include a large network of natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure, while its pipeline and storage business provides transportation and storage services primarily in Texas and Mississippi.

The company traces its history to 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.