Vestcor Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,077,000 after acquiring an additional 5,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ATO. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $150.12 on Friday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.92.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.