Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $156.35.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $152.92 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $113.46 and a 52 week high of $167.45. The company has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.79.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total value of $2,264,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 191.2% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 141.2% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.