Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $140.69.

ATO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 worth $1,162,713,000 after buying an additional 1,041,608 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 83,661 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings 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 valued at $180,834,000 after acquiring an additional 19,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the second 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 Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $139.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $105.27 and a fifty-two week high of $140.04. The firm has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $132.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.62.

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

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

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.