Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Given New $182.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price objective lifted by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $182.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.56% from the company’s current price.

ATO has been the topic of several other research reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down from $198.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.27.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ATO stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.64. 159,148 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,217,949. Atmos Energy has a 52-week low of $154.72 and a 52-week high of $192.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $163.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 627.3% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Downshift Financial LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 2,514.3% during the third quarter. Downshift Financial LLC now owns 183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is a regulated natural gas utility that distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural customers. The company also operates natural gas pipeline and storage assets, supporting the transportation and management of gas within its service areas.

Atmos Energy serves more than 3 million distribution customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Kansas and Colorado. Its distribution operations include a large network of natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure, while its pipeline and storage business provides transportation and storage services primarily in Texas and Mississippi.

The company traces its history to 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.