Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys Shares of 4,501 Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,501 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors increased its position in Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Atmos Energy by 541.4% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $212,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $238,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $112,002,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ATO. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.05.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $152.99. 572,357 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 920,665. The company has a market capitalization of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $156.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.33. Atmos Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $113.46 and a fifty-two week high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The firm's revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.