New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 5,634 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 365,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,634 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $50,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ATO. Creative Planning boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 34,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,784,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Ledyard National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $251,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $6,189,000. Finally, BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 2,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $148.71 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $141.62 and a 200 day moving average of $139.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $152.65. 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 data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

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.