National Pension Service Acquires 9,477 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 205,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,477 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.13% of Atmos Energy worth $31,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 379.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the first quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $165.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $156.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.50. Atmos Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $128.12 and a twelve month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%. The business had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on Atmos Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.27.

Atmos Energy Company 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.