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

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Argus set a $172.00 price objective on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.22.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Atmos Energy stock opened at $168.15 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.68. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $136.16 and a 12 month high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 25.49%. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. The trade was a 33.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,872,162,000 after purchasing an additional 359,780 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,162,000 after buying an additional 356,942 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.6% during the second 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 raised 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 acquiring an additional 84,786 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 17,022 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.