PGGM Investments Grows Stake in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 63.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,615 shares during the period. PGGM Investments' holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,633,000 after acquiring an additional 61,708 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 138,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,012,000 after acquiring an additional 59,979 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 46,329 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,908,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $116.93. 733,068 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 666,103. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $115.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.01. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 for 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 business posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.