Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Raises Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 293,367 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,197 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned approximately 0.18% of Atmos Energy worth $40,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 9,865 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ATO traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $149.60. The company had a trading volume of 694,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,851. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $154.55. The stock has a market cap of $23.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.70.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

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.