Vestcor Inc Purchases 848 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Vestcor Inc raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $150.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.02 and its 200 day moving average is $141.92. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.