Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Raises Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 80.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $117.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 43,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,720. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for 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 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

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.