Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Shares Purchased by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,356 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $2,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATO. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 293,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,797,000 after purchasing an additional 28,083 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 78.1% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 113,773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,845,000 after acquiring an additional 49,881 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 9,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $152.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.24. Atmos Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. 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 (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. Equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ATO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

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.