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

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.15.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

ATO opened at $150.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.97 and a 200-day moving average of $143.06. The company has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

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.