Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 147 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 11,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,611,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $298,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ATO. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $149.87 on Monday. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $141.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.86.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

Atmos Energy 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.