State of Michigan Retirement System Has $5.79 Million Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 421,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,085,000 after buying an additional 38,151 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the first quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 99.1% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 16,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 8,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Partners Group LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $116.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $116.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATO. Barclays increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Company 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.