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

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

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

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock traded up $2.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $144.19. 801,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 874,746. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $110.40 and a fifty-two week high of $145.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $138.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 46.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 248.5% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 158.3% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.