Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $172.2222.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective (up previously from $182.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays set a $175.00 price target on Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the third quarter valued at $1,723,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 133.1% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 39,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,814,000 after acquiring an additional 22,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 13.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 479,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,848,000 after acquiring an additional 56,604 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $168.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $136.16 and a 12-month high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $737.48 million during the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 53.40%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.