Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,043,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 80.5% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of ATO traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $118.17. The company had a trading volume of 523,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 823,875. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $115.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.90. The firm has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% 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.