Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Raised to Strong-Buy at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ATO. Bank of America started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $150.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.37. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $110.97 and a 12-month high of $154.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,367,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,836,526,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after buying an additional 1,341,640 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 211.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,136,463,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,806,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,760,000 after acquiring an additional 107,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.