StockNews.com Downgrades Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) to Sell

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on ATO. Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $116.65 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $116.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.57. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the 3rd 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 period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.