Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Increased to $144.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Barclays from $129.00 to $144.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.70% from the company’s previous close.

ATO has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.56.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock traded down $2.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $137.53. The stock had a trading volume of 435,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,024. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $105.44 and a 1-year high of $140.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $132.45 and its 200-day moving average is $122.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the 2nd 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.