Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 426 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised 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 buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 187.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 463 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.16. 504,438 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 844,450. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.16. Atmos Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $127.90.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

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.