Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Raises Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,002,000. Nilsine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,360,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 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 brokerages have recently commented on ATO. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $152.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $147.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $154.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.