Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases 26,000 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 157.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $5,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 58,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,077,000 after purchasing an additional 5,884 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 4.9 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $147.64 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.22 and a 200 day moving average of $143.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $110.97 and a 52 week high of $157.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.