Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 86,926 Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 86,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,106,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.05% of Atmos Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,604,000 after buying an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,319,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 369,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,465,000 after acquiring an additional 12,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $160.00 to $159.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock traded up $0.40 on Thursday, hitting $154.12. The company had a trading volume of 718,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,036,970. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $167.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.45 and a 200-day moving average of $148.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The company 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 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 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 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.