Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ATO. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $2.41 on Tuesday, reaching $136.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,656,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 896,851. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.62. Atmos Energy has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $136.33. The company has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.4% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,887,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.