Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 294.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,349 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $6,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $76,360,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,446,000 after purchasing an additional 278,961 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO traded up $2.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $152.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,071,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,012. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.56. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $152.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy 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.