Analysts Set Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Target Price at $162.50

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $164.70.

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up previously from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays set a $175.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. SouthState Corp grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.9% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.6% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO opened at $175.58 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $166.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.16. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $136.05 and a 1 year high of $177.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The company had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.80%.

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.