Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.33% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.69.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $139.22 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $132.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.01 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 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 has a fifty-two week low of $103.70 and a fifty-two week high of $139.63.

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

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,314,641,000 after buying an additional 127,199 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,608 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 83,661 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 19,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 66,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.