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

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $143.94.

ATO has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 20.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,493,000 after buying an additional 3,071 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 8,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 50.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $367,000. Finally, Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $1,570,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $143.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $21.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $105.44 and a twelve month high of $144.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.78.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

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.