Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.15.

A number of analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $148.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.63. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $154.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 49.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,836,526,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after acquiring an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,136,463,000 after acquiring an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.