Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ATO. UBS Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.3 %

ATO stock opened at $117.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.61. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,633,000 after acquiring an additional 61,708 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 29.6% during the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,479 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 46,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,908,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 26.8% during the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 189,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,040,000 after acquiring an additional 39,970 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.