Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 6,026 Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,026 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $1,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 45.9% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,936,000 after buying an additional 3,951 shares during the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth about $207,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $396,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 7,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 2,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $167.21 on Tuesday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $136.16 and a 1 year high of $180.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $173.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.42. The company has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $172.00 target price (down previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Argus set a $172.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the sale, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.