StockNews.com Upgrades Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) to “Hold”

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

ATO has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.56.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $139.36 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.42 and its 200-day moving average is $123.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $105.44 and a 12-month high of $140.04.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 467.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

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.