Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $2.56 on Thursday, reaching $141.44. 1,343,594 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,084. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $107.82 and a fifty-two week high of $144.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $138.02 and its 200-day moving average is $126.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth $37,000. PFS Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter worth $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 248.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 158.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.