Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Increased to $140.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $128.00 to $140.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.03% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.71.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.22. 133,117 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 895,152. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $138.78.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 30,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,612 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Atmos Energy

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.