Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Cut to $119.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $119.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ATO. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a neutral rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Atmos Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $118.02 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.52. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.