New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 1,653 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 356,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.22% of Atmos Energy worth $54,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,791,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,213,925,000 after acquiring an additional 424,235 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,073,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $625,180,000 after purchasing an additional 63,166 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 23.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,899,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $292,699,000 after purchasing an additional 362,894 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $282,487,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 24.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,317,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $203,659,000 after purchasing an additional 257,341 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $176.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $136.05 and a one year high of $180.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $174.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.86. The stock has a market cap of $28.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. Analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.56.

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.