Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires 18,566 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 58.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,566 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $7,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after buying an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,107,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $432,749,000 after purchasing an additional 223,809 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,538,000. Finally, Sfmg LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $147,516,000 after purchasing an additional 7,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ATO. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.39.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ATO traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,245,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 929,363. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $161.49. The business's 50-day moving average is $151.49 and its 200-day moving average is $145.73. The stock has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.