Brokerages Set Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Target Price at $147.69

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $148.61.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $137.97 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $110.46 and a 12-month high of $152.65. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,355,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 565.3% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,738,000 after purchasing an additional 34,515 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 419,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,960,000 after buying an additional 14,440 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 323,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,750,000 after buying an additional 22,531 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 52.2% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 25,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,983,000 after buying an additional 8,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.