Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a neutral rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $117.90 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $115.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.11. The stock has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 247,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,633,000 after acquiring an additional 61,708 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 138,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,012,000 after purchasing an additional 59,979 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 19,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 46,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,908,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.