State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 25.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,191 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,355,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,077,000 after buying an additional 5,884 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock opened at $142.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.50. The company has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $110.46 and a 1-year high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on ATO shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

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.