Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Lowered to $119.00 at Morgan Stanley

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $119.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.48% from the company’s previous close.

ATO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE ATO traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $117.26. The company had a trading volume of 95,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 907,538. The company has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.49. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $2,314,641,000 after purchasing an additional 127,199 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,162,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,482,000 after purchasing an additional 58,966 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,243,000 after acquiring an additional 83,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,595,000 after acquiring an additional 50,209 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.