Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 6,238 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 20.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,238 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,162,713,000 after buying an additional 1,041,608 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 46.2% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after buying an additional 446,292 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $32,941,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3,712.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 185,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,449,000 after buying an additional 180,209 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $136.97 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $136.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

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.