Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

ATO has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO stock opened at $116.93 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28.

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

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 89,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,682,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $884,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 136,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 2,188 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $224,000. 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.