Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Cut to $119.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $119.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ATO has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a neutral rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Atmos Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $116.16 on Monday. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.