Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $187.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $186.42.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of ATO opened at $177.57 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $154.23 and a twelve month high of $192.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $174.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.35.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ATO. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $331,426,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 94.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,652,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,851,000 after buying an additional 1,778,653 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 26,269.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,033,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,279,000 after buying an additional 1,029,781 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,993,968,000 after buying an additional 927,986 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $107,729,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Atmos Energy

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.