Pensioenfonds Rail & OV Sells 4,726 Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

Pensioenfonds Rail & OV cut its position in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 304,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,726 shares during the period. Atmos Energy makes up about 2.7% of Pensioenfonds Rail & OV’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Pensioenfonds Rail & OV’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $35,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on ATO shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.71.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $138.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $139.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $131.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.99.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.

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.