Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) PT Raised to $122.00

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $122.00 in a report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ATO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Atmos Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a neutral rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $129.17.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $115.92 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $115.18. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28. The company has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.