Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Has $2.63 Million Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,633,000 after buying an additional 61,708 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 138,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,012,000 after purchasing an additional 59,979 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. increased its position in Atmos Energy by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 46,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded down $1.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $117.06. The company had a trading volume of 43,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,720. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.90. The company has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.