Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Lowered to $195.00 at Morgan Stanley

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $197.00 to $195.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ATO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Truist Financial began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.11.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock opened at $182.99 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $184.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.69. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $149.98 and a 1-year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 51.95%.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 206.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,597,000 after buying an additional 18,148 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $961,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Atmos Energy by 33.8% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,130,000 after buying an additional 4,636 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Atmos Energy by 133.1% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 39,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,814,000 after buying an additional 22,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calton & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $901,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by 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.