Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Now Covered by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a peer perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $154.62 on Monday. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $155.26. The stock has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $147.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after buying an additional 362,594 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,136,463,000 after acquiring an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.