Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ATO. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a neutral rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $126.95 on Monday. 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 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $132.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $119.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 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.