Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a neutral rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Atmos Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $119.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.35 and a 200-day moving average of $115.65.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,314,641,000 after purchasing an additional 127,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,608 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 5.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,243,000 after purchasing an additional 83,661 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,595,000 after purchasing an additional 50,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,484,105 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,008,000 after purchasing an additional 242,722 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.