Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Holdings Lifted by State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 890 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $21,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 141.2% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11,200.0% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. TD Cowen raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Argus set a $172.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.56.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE ATO opened at $176.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.02 and its 200-day moving average is $163.94. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $136.05 and a one year high of $180.65. The firm has a market cap of $28.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

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.