Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $150.81 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $145.83 and its 200 day moving average is $142.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $110.97 and a one year high of $154.55.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. As a group, research analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 8,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,897,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,604,000 after buying an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.