California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 480,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,022 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.30% of Atmos Energy worth $66,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. South Plains Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $154.83. The company had a trading volume of 3,090,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 939,361. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.50. The company has a market cap of $24.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $112.85 and a 12 month high of $167.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Atmos Energy's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Argus raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho cut Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong 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 $156.35.

Atmos Energy Company 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.