Analysts Set Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) PT at $133.17

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $133.17.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,277,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 462.0% in the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 67,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,931,000 after acquiring an additional 55,894 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 28,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE ATO opened at $130.78 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.29. The company has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $133.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

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.