Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

ATO has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.69.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE ATO opened at $139.22 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $103.70 and a 12 month high of $139.63. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $132.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.40. The stock has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 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.