Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 21,267 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 1,464.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,267 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.3% during the first quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Geller Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 4,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $154.26. 436,931 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 914,735. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.70. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $119.90 and a 1-year high of $167.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $154.83 and its 200 day moving average is $150.37.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 25.35%. The firm 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 earned $2.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $156.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $156.00 to $153.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.95.

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 sale, the director owned 172,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. This represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.