New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 5,634 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 365,284 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,634 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.24% of Atmos Energy worth $50,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at about $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,604,000 after buying an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $149.53. The company had a trading volume of 215,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 872,029. The firm has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $152.65. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $141.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.53.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.