Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Receives $137.71 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $137.71.

ATO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $138.98 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $139.63. The stock has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $131.34 and its 200 day moving average is $121.99.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings 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 worth $3,520,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 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.