Atmos Energy (ATO) Set to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) will issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, May 8th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.66 per share for the quarter. Persons that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Atmos Energy to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ATO stock opened at $119.32 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $116.03 and its 200 day moving average is $114.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ATO. Barclays boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.33.

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.