Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Reduces Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lessened its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $152.30 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $110.97 and a 1-year high of $152.65. The company has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $142.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.31.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.