Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a hold rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. 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. 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. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $142.56.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $139.36 on Thursday. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $105.44 and a fifty-two week high of $140.04. The stock has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.39. 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 (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.28%.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the first 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 increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,041,608 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,243,000 after purchasing an additional 83,661 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the second 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 boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,506,000 after buying 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.