Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Raised to $165.00

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its target price raised by Mizuho from $148.00 to $165.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.69.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $151.37 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy has a 52-week low of $110.46 and a 52-week high of $152.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $142.39 and its 200 day moving average is $129.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This is a boost from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edward Geiser purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,003.78. The trade was a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the second quarter worth $37,000. PFS Partners LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 75.6% during 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 during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 50.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.