Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 2.3 %

ATO traded up $2.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $117.20. 1,108,299 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 834,178. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $125.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $115.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.