StockNews.com Lowers Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a neutral rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $117.90 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. The business’s fifty day moving average is $115.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.11.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 21.7% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 51.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 25,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,749,000 after buying an additional 8,844 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 134,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bfsg LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 2.5% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 11,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.