Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO)

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a peer perform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus raised shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $154.62 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. Atmos Energy has a 52-week low of $110.97 and a 52-week high of $155.26. The stock has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.