Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $129.17.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $117.17 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $116.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.47. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $101.00 and a twelve month high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,477 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 1,538 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 294.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 21,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,563,000 after purchasing an additional 16,095 shares during the period. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 51,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,113,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 30,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,675,000 after purchasing an additional 8,363 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth $726,000. 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.