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

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.69.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $139.22 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $103.70 and a fifty-two week high of $139.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $132.18 and a 200 day moving average of $122.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,314,641,000 after purchasing an additional 127,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after buying an additional 1,041,608 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,243,000 after buying an additional 83,661 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after buying an additional 19,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,506,000 after acquiring an additional 66,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.