Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 491.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,208 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 95,713 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.08% of Atmos Energy worth $13,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATO. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 26,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,828,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $310,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,506 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,219,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth about $382,000. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth about $1,974,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ATO. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group began 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 on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $125.50.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of ATO traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $116.33. 1,281,431 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,011. The stock has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.63. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is 48.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.