PGGM Investments Acquires 19,615 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 63.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,615 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded down $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $116.93. 733,068 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 666,103. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.00. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATO. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

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.