Vestcor Inc Cuts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Vestcor Inc decreased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 25.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,696 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,355,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 565.3% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after purchasing an additional 34,515 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 419,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,960,000 after purchasing an additional 14,440 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 323,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,750,000 after purchasing an additional 22,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 52.2% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 25,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,983,000 after purchasing an additional 8,774 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ATO. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.69.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $140.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $143.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.52. Atmos Energy Co. has a one year low of $110.46 and a one year high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 50.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $144.89 per share, for a total transaction of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.