Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 123,904 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 116.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 123,904 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.15% of Atmos Energy worth $26,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $136.56 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $138.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.09.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.