Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Raised to $165.00

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price target raised by Mizuho from $148.00 to $165.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ATO has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.69.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $151.32 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $110.46 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The company has a market cap of $23.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.39 and a 200-day moving average of $129.99.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This is an increase from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 50.66%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,745,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,906,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341,640 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,800,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,498,153,000 after purchasing an additional 362,594 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,212.0% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 291,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,446,000 after buying an additional 278,961 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $32,221,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,532.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 218,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 205,300 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.