Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Receives $173.22 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $174.1111.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. TD Cowen began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $164.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.74. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $138.77 and a 1-year high of $180.65. The company has a market cap of $26.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.77.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. On average, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.