Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 4th, 2023

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,648 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 13,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,517,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $3,194,000. 91.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total value of $1,431,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 217,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,931,692.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $117.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Atmos Energy from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.25.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $112.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $113.07 and a 200-day moving average of $113.10. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $97.71 and a 52 week high of $121.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 17.06% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.86 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Atmos Energy Profile

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Atmos Energy Corp. engages in the provision of natural gas services. It operates under the Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage business segments. The Distribution segment is involved in regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations. The Pipeline and Storage segment includes pipeline and storage operations of Atmos Pipeline-Texas division and natural gas transmission operations.