Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.11.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of ATO stock opened at $164.55 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $138.77 and a one year high of $180.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $169.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.96. The stock has a market cap of $26.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.77.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. Analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,872,162,000 after buying an additional 359,780 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,162,000 after acquiring an additional 356,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,073,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,180,000 after acquiring an additional 63,166 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,737,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $638,102,000 after purchasing an additional 84,786 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,099,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $529,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,022 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.