State of Alaska Department of Revenue Reduces Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,191 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake 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 worth $4,355,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in 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, FMR LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $142.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $141.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.50. The stock has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $110.46 and a 52-week high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.