Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $40.86 Million Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,197 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned 0.18% of Atmos Energy worth $40,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,341,640 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $76,360,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the third 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. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock opened at $150.81 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $154.55. 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 market cap of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.37.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.