Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Stock Price

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $147.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 2.55% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ATO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $150.85. 96,273 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 814,494. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.37. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 9,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is 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.