Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $162.50.

ATO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $162.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $163.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus set a $172.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $175.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. Atmos Energy has a 52-week low of $136.05 and a 52-week high of $176.11.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $838.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.80%.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 40,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,961,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 515.7% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,066,000 after acquiring an additional 176,916 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth $242,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 97.8% in the third quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the period. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 4,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $772,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.