Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Stock Position Cut by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,077,000 after buying an additional 5,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $146.67 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.17. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $152.65. The company has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

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.