Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $155.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ATO. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, September 9th. They set a buy rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $140.69.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

ATO opened at $139.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $139.63.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently 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.