California Public Employees Retirement System Purchases 6,249 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 690,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,249 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.43% of Atmos Energy worth $96,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,538,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,906,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $76,360,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $154.62 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.43. The stock has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G 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. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $155.26.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

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.