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

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 841 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $3,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

ATO opened at $119.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $116.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.32.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ATO shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

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.