Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,660 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.10% of Atmos Energy worth $26,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 30.4% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $170.37 on Friday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $138.77 and a 1 year high of $180.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.31.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 25.49%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Cowen began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $172.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.22.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the sale, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. The trade was a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.